Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool LIVE!
Substitute Diogo Jota's second-half header earned Liverpool a battling 1-1 draw with surprise title rivals Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, keeping the Premier League leaders six points clear at the top of the standings.
High-flying Forest, who are enjoying a remarkable season after just avoiding relegation last term, raced into the lead in an electric City Ground atmosphere through striker Chris Wood with eight minutes on the clock.
Liverpool, whose only league defeat this season prior to their trip to the East Midlands came against Forest in September, looked to be heading for another humbling before Jota headed home a 66th-minute equaliser from a corner.
Jota and Mohamed Salah went close to securing victory for Liverpool late on but found home goalkeeper Matz Sels in inspired form. Instead, the draw ensured Arne Slot's team sit six points above second-placed Forest, who have played a game more. Read the game LIVE below with our dedicated match blog!
Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool latest updates
- GOAL! Jota heads home first touch
- GOAL! Wood fires home opener
Forest move clear of Arsenal into second in the table.
Second!
Full-time!
21:55 , Alex Young97min: That’s it! What a game.
96min: Salah fails to collect a pass on the edge of the area. He’s not be bang at it tonight.
95min: Both teams are exhausted but still pushing.
92min: Sels with another save as Gakpo’s deflected strike is pushed behind!
90min: Triple change from Forest.
Wood, Williams and Gibbs-White are off, replaced by Moreno, Awoniyi and Morato.
88min: OFF THE LINE!
Salah denied from the following corner as Aina is in the right place at the right time.
88min: Salah turns on a sixpence and tries to find the top corner, but Sels palms it clear.
87min: Liverpool racking up the chances but Forest’s defence is a match for the lot.
85min: Forest should score!
Elanga drills a pass across the face of goal, and Silva doesn’t anticipate it so the ball rolls out of play.
84min: Alexander-Arnold sends Salah scampering down at on goal, but the pass has a little too much spice on it so Sels can run out and smother.
84min: Silva replaces Hudson-Odoi.
83min: Oh my word, that sums up his night. Salah has the whole goal at his mercy but skies a shot well over the bar.
81min: Screams for a Liverpool penalty as Salah takes a tumble under pressure from Anderson and Williams, but the referee isn’t interested.
80min: This is end to end. Fascinating final 10 minutes to play.
78min: Oh my, what a save from Selz! Jota denied again.
He could have had a hat-trick!
77min: Yates replaced by Dominguez.
75min: Jones replaces Diaz.
74min: Jones is being readied.
72min: You can really sense the nerves around the City Ground now. The vibes have shifted.
69min: Almost a second for Jota! He dances through the Forest defence and forces a super stop from Sels.
67min: That is remarkable, what a substitution.
GOAL!
21:24 , Alex Young66min: Jota scores with his first touch!
Corner comes in from Tsimikas, and both substitutes combine!
65min: Oh, he must be reading the blog.
Jota replaces Konate, and Tsimikas replaces Robertson.
64min: Another set-piece from Liverpool, another Anderson header away.
I’ve no idea why Slot hasn’t made any chances yet.
62min: Elanga goes for goal with a free kick on the angle, and Alisson has to be alert to punch it clear.
61min: Mac Allister again guilty of a needless foul as Gibbs-White takes a tumble, and in the melee, Alexander-Arnold has punched the ball away from Anderson. All very weird.
60min: Salah’s first sight of goal... and he drills a shot wide of the near post.
59min: Another Liverpool corner and again Forest win the first header.
57min: Diaz’s best chance of the game, and that’s not saying much, as he fails to control Gravenberch’s pass into the area.
55min: Anderson frustrated after being forced to concede a corner. Robertson trots over...
53min: Yates is booked for dragging back Diaz.
52min: Jota is being readied.
51min: Hudson-Odoi cuts inside the winds one up from the edge of the area, but his shot is blocked.
No improvement from Liverpool yet.
49min: Wood was on the move then, and Konate hadn’t spotted him, but the pass from Elanga wasn’t good enough.
48min: Alexander-Arnold tries to wriggle into the Forest area after a one-two with Szoboszlai, but is soon crowded out.
Second half
21:02 , Alex Young46min: Right then, what have Liverpool got?
It’s been a quiet game for the Egyptian King so far. No shot on target, and barely even a shot at all.
It’s been such an impressive performance from Forest, who have barely looked troubled in the first half.
They needed just one chance, and took it. And should have scored more.
A huge 45 minutes to come for Liverpool, who really need to improve.
46min: There’s the whistle.
45min: MacAllister has 10 full seconds to pick a pass and still gets it wrong.
44min: One minute added on.
42min: First booking of the night and it goes to Gibbs-White for asking for Szoboszlai to be booked.
40min: Anderson on the deck after a challenge with Konate. He should be OK to continue.
37min: Murillo has just sent Diaz flying, but the referee isn’t interested.
A curious performance from the man in the middle so far.
35min: Deary me. Diaz has the Forest defence backtracking and up against it with Salah screaming for the ball... but he can’t get this pass right.
Slot with his head in his hands.
34min: Another one.
33min: Yet another wayward pass from Liverpool, this time from Szoboszlai. They really are not at it tonight.
29min: Gibbs-White yelps out in pain after being tripped by MacAllister. He’ll be fine.
28min: Forest are so happy with Liverpool to have the ball, as they are throwing heads and legs at everything that comes at them.
25min: Gakpo rises to meet Salah’s fizzed-in cross at the back post, but he gets underneath it and angles a header off target.
24min: What is going on with Liverpool’s finishing today?
Diaz the latest to wind one up and then find Row Z.
23min: Great ball from Robertson forces a corner.
The left-back does the honours, but it’s cleared easily by Forest.
21min: Oh, wow. A deflection off Van Dijk almost falls into Aina’s path inside the area. The Liverpool skipper got lucky with that one.
20min: Liverpool wisely trying to calm things down, slowing their play. It was all a bit frantic.
18min: Salah is fuming. He’s done the ol’ ‘push the defender before receiving the ball trick’, and he’s been blown up for it.
That happens about 15 times a game, so it’ll be interesting how that decision pans out for him.
17min: Liverpool back on the ball and bossing possession again, but it’s not quite clicking at the moment.
14min: Forest tails are up as Hudson-Odoi squirms into the area and fires low at Alisson.
11min: The City Ground is absolutely rocking.
Liverpool have got a job on their hands.
GOAL!
20:09 , Alex Young9min: One chance, one goal!
Wood is played in by Elanga and slots it underneath Alisson!
As easy as you like.
7min: Another from Liverpool, another miss from Gravenberch.
Salah finds his team-mate in the area and I’m stunned at just how much the Dutch midfielder missed the target by.
6min: Now Gravenberch with a similarly poor shot from almost the same position.
4min: First half-sight of goal for Gakpo, and he doesn’t need to be asked twice... but he’s off balance so his shot flies wide.
3min: It’s a fast-paced start, with Liverpool enjoying more of the ball.
Kick-off!
20:00 , Alex Young1min: Up and running at the City Ground.
Here they come.
Players are in the tunnel. Not long now.
Chelsea have taken an early lead against Bournemouth, moving to within a point of Nottingham Forest before kick-off at the City Ground.
Final prep.
Nuno on facing Liverpool
19:36 , Alex Young“We are here to compete against all of the teams and I think we are doing well, but nothing changes in our approach, which stays the same. We know what we can do and how we want to do things
"We know each other, our strengths and weaknesses. So let’s play the game ... There’s no easy game in football. In my view, never, ever underestimate anybody.”
Slot on losing to Nottingham Forest earlier this season
19:31 , Alex Young“To lose on that day was hard to take. Now, looking back and seeing where they are in the league, it is not such a shock result as it felt then. They had a good game plan and made us play a poor game. We have to do better. We have to look into the details.”
Arne Slot has been speaking to TNT Sport.
"I was looking at how other teams exploited their weaknesses, which is very, very hard to find."
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Arne Slot analyses the challenge ahead against Nottingham Forest tonight 🧠
🎙️ @julesbreach | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/nftxLsX7JQ
So, as expected, Alexander-Arnold keeps him place at right-back.
It’s fairly routine from Slot. Szoboszlai is fit, so Jones is again on the bench, and Jota will be looking for another chance in the second half.
Team news in full
18:49 , Alex YoungNottingham Forest XI: Sels; Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Subs: Miguel, Morato, Boly, Domínguez, Ward-Prowse, Moreno, Awoniyi, Silva, Sosa
Liverpool XI: Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Gakpo; Diaz
Subs: Kelleher, Endo, Chiesa, Jones, Elliott, Jota, Tsimikas, Quansah, Bradley
Liverpool XI
18:46 , Alex Young...and Liverpool!
Team news is in for our clash with Nottingham Forest ⚪️ #NFOLIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 14, 2025
Nottingham Forest XI
18:45 , Alex YoungHere’s how the hosts line up!
Your Forest XI to face Liverpool. 👊 pic.twitter.com/6FyrPhvGFC
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 14, 2025
The hosts have arrived.
Confirmed team news to come in 15 minutes.
Early reports claim Szoboszlai starts tonight having shaken off an injury scare after being withdrawn at half-time of the win over Accrington Stanley.
Nuno hits back at Slot money claim
18:22Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo says "money doesn't play football" after Liverpool boss Arne Slot suggested they had spent their way to success this season.
Forest welcome Slot's Premier League leaders to the City Ground on Tuesday for a crunch match which could determine whether they are in a title race.
Nuno has guided his side to six-successive victories in the league and they would move to within three points of Liverpool with victory on Tuesday night.
Slot was complimentary about Nuno and Forest ahead of the game, but negated it by saying: "If you look at the money they spent, it's not a complete surprise."
But Nuno said it was about the players rather than the money spent.
"I don't know the spending, I don't know the value. That doesn't happen," he said.
"I look at the player as a human being and how I can make them better. How can I make you better?
"Money doesn't play football, people do. It's not my issue, we are not concerned about the price tag of things."
The bookies are not expecting it to be too tight tonight.
That may just be them covering their backs.
- Nottingham Forest - 7/2
- Draw - 23/10
- Liverpool - 4/7
(Odds via Betfair.)
Tonight’s match is primed to be a cracker. Nuno will have his team bang up for it, and they really have nothing to lose.
Score prediction
17:56 , Alex YoungLiverpool are unlikely to risk too much in what is arguably their toughest game left of the season.
Slot will be keen to keep it tight against a team who have nothing to lose.
Draw, 1-1.
Early Nottingham Forest team news
17:48 , Alex YoungNottingham Forest are in fine health ahead of tonight's game after Danilo made his long-awaited comeback from an ankle injury, but the defender is unlikely to start tonight.
That makes Ibrahim Sangare (hamstring) the only absentee.
Early Liverpool team news
17:40 , Alex YoungTrent Alexander-Arnold faces a fight for his position tonight after struggling badly in the last league game against Manchester United and was then left out in the Carabao Cup defeat to Spurs.
He started and shone against Accrington Stanley on Saturday and will hope to get the nod over Conor Bradley.
The good news for Slot is he has no fresh injury concerns. Dominik Szoboszlai is fine after his half-time substitution in that FA Cup win, and is expected to start.
Furthermore, Diogo Jota is now ready to play 90 minutes in the Premier League after coming through the whole game at the weekend unscathed.
The two definite Liverpool absentees against Forest are Darwin Nunez and Joe Gomez. The former is suspended after picking up five yellow cards and the latest on the defender is he is "quite far" away from fitness, as revealed by Slot in the pre-match press conference.
Captain Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konate, Ryan Gravenberch, Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah are all expected to start at the City Ground after being given the weekend off.
Meanwhile, Alexis Mac Allister, Andrew Robertson and Luis Diaz are pushing for starts having been unused substitutes against Accrington Stanley.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Liverpool
17:34 , Alex YoungTV channel: The game will be broadcast on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate. Coverage starts at 6.30pm GMT ahead of a 7pm kick-off.
Live stream: Subscribers will be able to watch on a live stream via the Discovery+ app.
Welcome
17:29 , Alex YoungGood evening and welcome to the London Standard’s LIVE coverage of the Premier League clash between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool at the City Ground.
It’s third hosting first in a game in which both teams will be hoping to lay down a title marker. Forest are the only team to have beaten Liverpool in the league this season - can they pull off a remarkable double?
Kick-off is at 8pm. Stick with us.
