East Midlands rivals Nottingham Forest and Leicester City go head to head in the Premier League on Monday night, with both sides desperate for three points.
Four consecutive losses for Forest has seen Steve Cooper's side drop down the table and into 19th place, with only Leicester below them. Now, the two basement sides will battle it out for three points, with a win for Forest potentially moving them out of the relegation zone.
Leicester are yet to win a game this season, with the Foxes only having picked up one point from their opening seven games. The last time these two sides met was in the FA Cup in February, with Forest battering Leicester 4-1.
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Scott McKenna and Morgan Gibbs-White are both doubts for the short trip to the King Power Stadium after both withdrew from international duty with their respective nations. Orel Mangala and Emmanuel Dennis have both been in training this week, meaning the duo could feature against the Foxes.
So, how could Forest fare on their trip to Leicester? We simulated the game to try and find out.
Leicester City vs Nottingham Forest score predicted by simulation
To run this simulation, we used FIFA 23, updating the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the Foxes could line up in a 4-1-4-1 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Ward; Castagne, Faes, Evans, Justin; Ndidi; Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall, Tielemans, Barnes; Vardy.
We predict that Nottingham Forest will line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with the lineup looking as follows: Henderson; Williams, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Yates, Freuler, O'Brien; Johnson, Awoniyi, Lingard.
The home side started the clash on top, with Jamie Vardy causing all sorts of issues for the Reds backline. The English striker tested Dean Henderson from close range after just two minutes, and the Forest 'keeper was forced into making a terrific save moments later.
A long ball over the top saw Vardy chase down possession, beating Wily Boly to the ball and breaking towards goal. A stroke of luck saw the striker stumble past Boly once more, and his strike was well hit, but Henderson was quick across his line to push his shot wide of the post.
After a flurry of chances for Leicester, Forest took control before the break as Danny Ward was called into action, but neither side could find the breakthrough. The second half saw Leicester take control once again, and a spirited performance from Henderson was keeping the visitors in the game.
Harvey Barnes, Patson Daka and Vardy all had fantastic chances to score, but some wonderful goalkeeping from the Manchester United loanee kept the Foxes at bay. Forest had the chance to snatch a victory in added time, but another top-quality save from Ward denied Forest a winner.
Lewis O'Brien threaded a pass through to Brennan Johnson inside the box, and the Welshman's strike was saved by the feet of Ward. The ball rebounded to O'Brien inside the box who shot first time, but the 'keeper was quick to get back to his feet and make another great save.
Full-time: Leicester City 0-0 Nottingham Forest
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that impressive goalkeeping performances could see the clash between Leicester and Forest end all square, with both sides failing to score. A draw doesn't really suit either side, but if the real-life game was any similar to the simulation, Cooper may be happy with a point.
What do you think the score could be on Monday night? Let us know in the comments below!
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