Arne Slot’s super-subs show why Liverpool could win league title from the bench
If Liverpool are to win the Premier League title then it will be their power from the bench – and with their forward options – that will drive them there.
It what threatened to be a long night for the league leaders away to a rampant Nottingham Forest it was 22 seconds that made the difference. That was the time between Arne Slot sending Diogo Jota and, also, Kostas Tsimikas onto the pitch and his team equalising to earn a precious point. And we know how Liverpool love a super-sub.
It was from Tsimikas’s corner that Jota rose inside the six-yard area to glance a header into the net and fortune also favoured the brave with the Liverpool head coach withdrawing a defender – Andrew Robertson – for an extra forward.
“You saw today I can impact the game with the subs I have on the bench. Not for the first time this season these players helped us,” Slot said and that will be a significant weapon for the games to come.
“You need a bit of luck with that. We took Ibou [Konaté] out at that moment [for Tsimikas] which is normally a big threat at set-pieces but we all know that Jota can score a goal and Tsimikas has a good delivery. We brought them in to score a goal and they did it after 20 seconds.”
In fact it was a first touch for both players with replays showing that Cody Gakpo had cannily blocked off goalkeeper Matz Selz.
The definition of instant impact 😤
Diogo Jota scores with his first touch of the game just 25 seconds after being subbed on ⏰
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/vaEVR0hIGD— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Even so it was a shock to see Murillo – so imperious up until then – beaten in the air by Jota who jumped between him and Forest’s goalscorer – and another 6ft-plus player – Chris Wood.
Forest had been warned. “We were watching the Cup goal from a few years ago where he passed it to me and so when we were on the touchline we said ‘Let’s go and recreate that, you take the corner’. And it was a goal,” Jota later explained in reference to how he and Tsimikas had combined in an FA Cup quarter-final away to Forest in 2022 to win the tie.
Murillo had been outstanding and to such an extent that when Des Walker was introduced to the crowd at half-time it felt like the Brazilian was the heir to that famous “You’ll never beat…” chant.
Before Jota arrived Liverpool had 10 efforts on goal and not one of them on target. The 11th hit the net. After Jota’s introduction Liverpool’s shot count jumped to 23 with seven on target and he could have had a hat-trick – only to be denied by the brilliance of Selz with two outstanding saved.
Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo knew all about threat from his fellow Portuguese. “We have been really good at set-pieces but Diogo I had [at Wolverhampton Wanderers] and he is really good in the box,” he said.
"It's about enjoying the moment and competing very well." 💪
A proud Nuno joins @Sports_EmmaD to reflect on the draw to Liverpool 🤝
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/LSPkQgS82F— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
It was not, for once, an encounter that belonged to Mohamed Salah – although he, also, almost won it only to have a late shot cleared off the line by Ola Aina or Luis Díaz or Gakpo.
Much has rightly been made of the power of Liverpool’s attack, especially through Salah’s incredible run, and it is remarkable that a forward with Jota’s prowess is not an automatic starter even if he is still on his way back from long-term injury. He is arguably Liverpool’s deadliest finisher.
A draw is damaging for Liverpool – a second league draw in a row which constitutes their blip so far – but nowhere near as damaging as the defeat they were facing until Jota’s arrival even if it does offer a slight glimmer of hope to Arsenal ahead of Wednesday’s north London derby.
How, though, Arsenal will wish they had an attacker as accurate as Jota and the fact he is not in this Liverpool team is an indicator that even if they beat Tottenham Hotspur and reduce the deficit to four points – albeit having played a game more – they will remain the outsiders in this race.
First though Arsenal have to over-take Forest who, deliriously and deservedly, are up to second. If they had won they would have matched Leicester City’s points total at this stage of the league season when they won the title so improbably in 2015-16. It would have opened up the debate as to whether they are in the title fight.
Instead Forest can take immense satisfaction from collecting four points against Liverpool, having beaten them at Anfield earlier this campaign, and the fact that a draw here was not a surprising result.
With Chelsea and Manchester City drawing and dropping points there was little real harm done to Liverpool and little, also, to Forest whose growing ambition has to be to compete for a Champions League place. What a stunning achievement that would be.
It always felt it would be a tricky evening for Liverpool against the ‘Tricky Trees’ who are so comfortable at ceding possession and hitting hard on the counter-attack. And so it proved with their goal. When Slot analyses it he will not be pleased with the defending with both Konaté and – in particular – Robertson out-of-position and even Virgil van Dijk hesitant.
It came as Callum Hudson-Odoi won back possession and found the other winger, Anthony Elanga, who had found space infield. He quickly slid the ball through to Wood who Van Dijk had let go and he finished unerringly to claim his 13th league goal of the season.
Just listen to that roar 🔊
Chris Wood opens the scoring for Nottingham Forest through a perfectly executed break 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/pFyMCc3zLl— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
Liverpool dominated but snatched at chances until Jota’s introduction. After that it was like a switch had been flicked.
“Second-half was outstanding,” Slot said. “It was like ping-pong,” Nuno claimed, although that suggested there was more back-and-forth than there was. In truth Forest were hanging on as Liverpool went closer and closer. Jota caused that.
10:37 PM GMT
And finally, Nuno speaks to TNT Sports
It was a good game. It was entertaining. In the first half we were organised and didn’t allow [them] many situations but the second half was like ping-pong when Liverpool became stronger and they could accelerate with speed and talent. That was a dangerous moment.
I’m very proud of the team, the way they worked, especially the sprints to recover, up and down, the speed to attack. It was good.
It was a good finish, clinical after a pass from Anthony [Elanga].
It was a moment [the equaliser] that Liverpool made the changes. We were going to make the changes [but not at a corner] so credit to Liverpool. They had a lot of chances also.
[Sels] is in a good moment, he is very confident and he is keeping us in the game. We are very thankful.
It’s amazing, the fans helped the defence, they kept supporting us. They realised the opponent was so good and for the last seven minutes it felt like they were giving us an extra man.
I’m so proud. We keep going. We enjoy the moment and are competing well.
10:28 PM GMT
Arne Slot talks to TNT Sports
You need to be lucky with substitutions. We know Jota can score a goal and Kostas has a good set-piece. Their goalkeeper had to make a few incredible saves but their defenders blocked almost every shot. There are not so many teams who can create so many chances against a team that is so defensively strong but unfortunately we couldn’t get the second.
Every time you get the ball you have to get past 11 players and they kick it long. First you have to win the second ball, then they go back in a low block with good defenders and a good goalkeeper.
That’s why I’m so happy with our performance in the second half.
Forest can look back at a good game, they defended really well and we had a good second half. We were better than the last time we played Forest, that wasn’t difficult, we created few chances then but today we created a lot more.
To win in the second half of the season is harder than the first but if we can continue with these performances like in the second half we won’t [have to settle for] a draw.
10:01 PM GMT
A brief word from Diogo Jota
Obviously I love to score goals and I scored with my first touch today, so that gave the team a bit of momentum. I had two more chances and could have given us the three points but unfortunately I couldn’t.
09:59 PM GMT
Forest are up to second
Liverpool stay six points clear with a game in hand.
Tonight’s other results were:
Brentford 2-2 Man City
Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth
West Ham 3-2 Fulham
09:55 PM GMT
Full time: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
A compelling game and a worthy draw. Liverpool had far more of the ball and the chances but defending and goalkeeping are skills, too, and Forest were masterly at both tonight.
09:54 PM GMT
90+7 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Salah fails to cushion Alexander-Arnold’s whipped pass across the 18-yard line as he tried to kill it to set up a half-volley.
09:53 PM GMT
90+6 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Milenkovic heads away Tsimikas’ chip and Forest lack the numbers to make the most of Elanga’s counter-attack.
09:52 PM GMT
90+5 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Liverpool free-kick, about 30 yards out, left of centre, for Aina’s foul on Gakpo in full flight.
09:51 PM GMT
90+4 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Forest defend the corner stoutly and Murillo, to the fore in his won box again, is named man of the match.
09:50 PM GMT
90+3 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Terrific save from Sels low to his left as Gakpo’s sizzling shot takes a late deflection. Liverpool corner.
09:49 PM GMT
90+1 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Liverpool have been throwing the kitchen sink for the past 20 minutes but so far so steadfast from Forest for whom Sels and Murillo have been magnificent.
Triple Forest substitution:
Morato → Gibbs-White
Moreno → Williams
Awoniyi → Wood.
09:48 PM GMT
90 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Forest win the header at the near post but there’s Salah when the ball falls from the defensive header to hook a volley towards the bottom right where Aina stoops to make what may be a point-saving block.
Seven minutes of stoppage time to come, the fourth official signals.
09:46 PM GMT
89 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Tsimikas’ corner is bludgeoned away by the brow of Murillo but back come Liverpool and Mac Allister threads a gorgeous pass through to Salah on the right of the box and his rasping shot is turned behind for a corner.
09:44 PM GMT
88 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Liverpool keep probing, trying to pull the defence out of position but so far Forest have stuck to their guns, staying focused. Williams blocks Jones’ cross behind for a corner.
09:43 PM GMT
86 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Sels hares off his line to stop Salah pouncing and then Jota Silva, on for Hudson-Odoi, rakes a cross through the six-yard box that bypasses Alisson on the angle and demands only a tap-in to give Forest the lead but there is no red shirt there.
Jota Silva → Hudson-Odoi.
09:41 PM GMT
84 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
From the second knockings at the corner Liverpool fashion a chance for Salah to open his body and whip a left-foot shot from the right of the box towards the top left corner but he gets under it and blasts it high, wide and hideous.
09:40 PM GMT
82 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Liverpool penalty shout checked and rebuffed by VAR after Salah went down as Anderson hung a leg across him as he tried to get to a pass. The ref waves play on and Sels turns Szoboszlai’s fierce daisycutter round the left post.
09:37 PM GMT
80 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Forest defend like cornered tigers as the two sides trade counter-attacks. Murillo and Milenkovic are everywhere, thrwoing themselves at shots and Anderson sweeping up in front of them with crucial interceptions, prods and thefts.
09:35 PM GMT
78 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Superb save from Sels again from Jota’s thunderous left-foot half-volley from six yards that spun up off the ground into the keeper’s shin as he spreadeagled himself.
09:34 PM GMT
76 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Forest make their first switch:
Dominguez → Yates.
09:33 PM GMT
74 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Third Liverpool change:
Jones → Diaz.
Gravenberch is playing alongside Van Dijk when Liverpool haven’t got the ball, but they are lining up with three at the back when they have the ball.
09:31 PM GMT
73 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Another vital Murillo block to stop Szoboszlai’s cross from the right reaching Diaz. he has been sensational, as John Percy says.
09:30 PM GMT
72 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Diogo Jota is Liverpool’s best centre-forward and should be ready for a run of starts after being nursed back patiently.
09:28 PM GMT
70 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Good save from Sels after Dioga Jota spun Williams’ blood on the right of the box and twisted to shoot from 10 yards. Sels races out and blocks with his chest.
Liverpool are now cranking up the pressure and Forest are starting to make mistakes.
Arne Slot’s substitutions have transformed the match and it is now the visitors who are creating chances.
Forest are struggling to get out of their own half and need to rediscover some momentum.
09:25 PM GMT
68 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 1
Now that’s what you call an impact substitution. Why take konate off when you have a corner? Well, that’s why!
09:23 PM GMT
GOAL!
Forest 1 Liverpool 1 (Diogo Jota) First touches for both of them as they came on. Tsimikas took the corner on the right and Jota stole behind Murillo to head it in at the back post.
The definition of instant impact 😤
Diogo Jota scores with his first touch of the game just 25 seconds after being subbed on ⏰
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/vaEVR0hIGD— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
09:23 PM GMT
66 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Diogo Jota → Konate
Tsimikas → Robertson.
09:22 PM GMT
65 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Yates is penalised for catching Mac Allister on the chin as the Forest captain employs his grappling skills to hold up a counter attack.
09:21 PM GMT
63 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Elanga tries to beat Alisson at the near post but the keeper is alert and bats it away.
09:20 PM GMT
61 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Gibbs-White is fouled by Mac Allister a yard outside the box. The ref whistles for a free-kick and Anderson hooks the dead ball back into the box. Alexander-Arnold punches the ball away and catches Anderson with his hand too. Anderson goes down but the referee says it was accidental and leaves it at that.
Murillo is having an outstanding game for Forest.
He has won so many headers and also been able to display his passing range when stepping out of defence.
The Brazilian just advanced towards the Liverpool half and then apologised to Nuno for daring to leave the side of Nikola Milenkovic.
09:17 PM GMT
59 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Murillo intercepts Szoboszlai’s pass intended for Gakpo at the back post which, had it got there, would have given him a tap-in. Moments later after Gravenberch thwarts Forest’s counter-attack, Salah gets his first glimpse of goal from 18 yards but lamps his shot wide.
09:15 PM GMT
58 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Good Liverpool move, zipping passes between Szoboszlai and Gravenberch who threads the ball down the inside right for Diaz whose first touch from 16 yards is too blunt and the ball skews off towards the keeper.
09:14 PM GMT
56 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Robertson takes a Liverpool corner on the right, rolling it short for a one-two before firing his second effort too deep. Alexander-Arnold gathers and tries to pick out Robertson’s run to the right post but hangs it too high for the left-back to control before he runs out of pitch.
09:12 PM GMT
54 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Mac Allister is bemused at being penalised for a foul on Wood. Alexander-Arnold makes a mess of a pass upfield to free Diaz after Forest give the ball straight back from the free-kick.
09:10 PM GMT
52 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Yates is booked for grabbing Diaz around the chest to stop him turning 10 yards inside the Forest half. Diogo Jota is warming up.
09:09 PM GMT
50 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Liverpool sloppily give the ball away 30 yards from the Forest goal when Mac Allister dummied to let the ball run only for it to be picked off by Aina. Forest pile forward with the three prongs of their trident, Elanga, Gibbs-White and Hudson-Odoi working together but Liverpool defend it well.
09:07 PM GMT
49 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Big tackle from Murillo as Szoboszlai spun through midfield but Elanga immediately gives it away and Liverpool counter but can’t retain possession.
09:05 PM GMT
48 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Szobiszlai diddles Williams with a dummy but then stands up the cross from the byline on the right too deep.
09:04 PM GMT
46 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Foul on Gakpo as he dribbles down the left, Yates clipping his heels and ankles. Alexander-Arnold stands over it. Anderson is the first sentry and heads the cross away.
09:02 PM GMT
The teams are back out
No changes. Arne Slot unzips his folder and has a look at a couple of pages of notes before handing it to one of his assistants.
08:50 PM GMT
Half-time verdict
Forest are halfway towards a league double over Arne Slot and the big question is whether they can maintain this level of intensity for another 45 minutes.
They have frustrated Liverpool for long periods even though the visiting team have hogged possession.
Forest have defended with huge resilience and organisation, restricting the league leaders to just a few chances that have not been taken.
Chris Wood’s first ever goal against Liverpool is the difference at the moment.
08:49 PM GMT
Half-time: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Forest have the goal on the break that has become almost routine this season and have defended like Trojans ever since. Liverpool started well, wasted three good shooting opportunities and have been frustrated and frustrating ever since, occasionally finding the ingenuity to work an opening against such an excellent defence but not the precision with the final pass or finish to grab the equaliser.
08:46 PM GMT
45+1 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Salah faces up Williams, shimmies as if about to explode into a sprint towards the box but Anderson is back to help his mate out and they shut the door on him.
08:45 PM GMT
45 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Only a minute of stoppage time to be played so Liverpool try to get a wiggle on down the right.
08:44 PM GMT
43 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Yellow card for Gibbs-White for asking for Szoboszlai to be booked for grabbing him around the waist. Forest take the free-kick quickly and send Elanga, the fastest player in world football he claims, down the right. He tries to pick out Anderson’s run to the right of the penalty spot but Mac Allister telescopes out a leg to intercept crucially.
"We're in your head, in your head. Arne, Arne, Arne!"
Nottingham Forest fans are aiming their chants towards the Liverpool boss 👀 pic.twitter.com/Xs6ltOalq4— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
08:41 PM GMT
41 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Liverpool corner after Mac Allister’s low drive, which wasn’t on target, hits a red-socked shin and goes behind. Murillo makes two blocks to defend the corner.
08:40 PM GMT
39 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Diaz is having a mare, the ball bouncing off the false 9 as he tried to trap it and lay it off to the left of the D. Anderson hits the deck and asks in vain for the physio a few seconds after tangling with Konate. The ref tells him to get up.
08:38 PM GMT
37 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Slot also isn’t happy about ‘a good old-fashioned shoulder barge’ on one of his players being allowed to ride.
08:37 PM GMT
35 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Aina dries the ball on a towel to prepare to hurl a throw-in parallel with the 18-yard line into the box. Szoboszlai wins the header,, Alexander-Arnold picks out Diaz who runs through the middle with only Murillo, jockeying, and Sels between him and goal. Gakpo races alongside to his right and is begging to played in one on one with the keeper but Diaz dithers, takes one touch too many and then clips his pass into Murillo’s outstretched leg, a perfectly timed interception. Slot looks peeved and understandably so.
Nine clean sheets so far in the league for Nottingham Forest and it is easy to see why here.
Liverpool are enjoying much of the possession and operating in dangerous areas but every time they aim the ball into the box there are Forest defenders lying in wait.
Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic’s partnership has proved significant so far this season and both centre-backs are impressing tonight.
Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo are getting most of the ball but Forest are proving resilient so far.
08:34 PM GMT
33 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Liverpool’s frustration mounts when Anderson’s block with his hand is not punished with a free-kick from 20 yards and the away side wastes another good shooting opportunity.
08:32 PM GMT
31 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Forest have lost only once in 16 games this season in which they have taken the lead.
08:30 PM GMT
29 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Having said that, Gakpo’s next cross picks out Szoboszlai, six yards out and he gets the leap in to head it on target only for Williams, who is diddier, jumping with him and blocking it with his own head at very close range.
08:28 PM GMT
27 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Gakpo tries a similar cross from the left with his right, lower than Salah’s and Williams stoops to head that one away. As Steve McManaman says, Forest are so confident of their defensive aerial strength they are happy for Liverpool to have as much ball out wide as they want and are confident they can deal with any cross.
08:27 PM GMT
25 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Salah scurries in from the right, rounds Williams on the inside and stands up a cross to the far post. Gakpo is first to it but can only reach it at the high point of his leap with the top of his head and pumps it over the bar. More brow less crown required…which would have needed six more inches of height.
08:25 PM GMT
22 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Liverpool corner after Robertson’s cross was blocked behind. Milenkovic wins the header but Liverpool win the clearance in midfield and pick out Diaz to the left of the D and he smacks a shot 3ft high and rising over the bar. That’s five Liverpool shots that have cleared the bar, three of them very decent chances.
08:22 PM GMT
20 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
There’s a big hole between Alexander-Arnold and Konate and Van Dijk has to race over from the left centre-back position to stop Elanga snapping on to pass to shoot. He boots the ball into his opponent’s shins and Robertson comes round to deal with the ricochet. Van Dijk urges his right-side defenders to switch on.
08:19 PM GMT
17 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
That exasperation extends to Slot when Salah is penalised for bumping Williams before they challenged for the ball.
Fine interception from Milenkovic when Liverpool win the ball back from the free-kick and send Szoboszlai in down the right and his cut-back is wellied away before it could reach Diaz.
That goal from Chris Wood was Nuno Espirito Santo’s vision in high definition.
Liverpool had made a much better start, with Forest having to soak up a lot of pressure, but the game has been flipped on its head in a devastating counter-attack.
Anthony Elanga found space and his fine pass set up Chris Wood, whose low finish beat Alisson to put the hosts ahead.
A goal out of nowhere.
08:17 PM GMT
15 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Mac Allister bends an aimless pass into the box and Milenkovic traps it and clears. There’s a lack of precision and frustration growing that Kavanagh is not giving them the free-kicks they think they deserve.
08:15 PM GMT
13 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Having started so fluently Liverpool have had a smack in the mouth and are reeling momentarily. Alexander-Arnold is shrugged off the ball by Hudson-Odoi and Forest pile forward only to shoot straight down Alisson’s throat. Some robust midfield tackles from Yates and Murillo rattle a few bones but the referee is happy to let the game flow.
08:12 PM GMT
11 min: Forest 1 Liverpool 0
Liverpool are livid about their own defending and almost invite another goal when Diaz is caught on his heels, Murillo pounces on the ball, strides forward and cuts his laces across a shot that arrows towards the top left before wobbling away and behind.
08:08 PM GMT
GOAL!
Forest 1 Liverpool 0 (Wood) Fabulous finish with his left into the bottom right corner, a rapid counter-attack sprung when Salah was dispossessed on halfway on the right. Two passes later and the ball is in the back of the net, Elanga’s diagonal pass picking out Wood who ran off Konate’s right shoulder to score.
Just listen to that roar 🔊
Chris Wood opens the scoring for Nottingham Forest through a perfectly executed break 🔥
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/pFyMCc3zLl— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
08:08 PM GMT
8 min: Forest 0 Liverpool 0
Looks like Forest are setting up to counter and allowing Liverpool a lot of the ball, not pressing or engaging high. It allows Alexander-Arnold to hit a lovely pass down the right ro Salah who steps in and passes with his left to Gravenberch who fires over. Should have done better.
08:06 PM GMT
6 min: Forest 0 Liverpool 0
Liverpool work triangles and quadrilaterals down the left with Robertson, Gakpo, Diaz and Mac Allister pinging the passes and rotating positions. It allows Van Dijk to stride forward into shooting range but when the ball is played inside it’s actually Gravenberch who latches in to it and scuds a shot miles wide.
08:04 PM GMT
5 min: Forest 0 Liverpool 0
Gakpo blazes over from 20 yards, the worst part of a good solo move, cutting in of the left on to his right, leaving Elanga chasing shadows and letting fly before Yates could close him down.
08:03 PM GMT
3 min: Forest 0 Liverpool 0
Liverpool stroke the ball out confidently between midfield and defence until Szoboszlai tries to thread a pass through to Salah running infield off Williams and down the inside-right but Murillo reads it and mops up before Salah can get there.
08:01 PM GMT
1 min: Forest 0 Liverpool 0
After Mull of Kintyre drifts like the mist across the City Ground, Forest kick off and shift the ball directly back to Sels who boots it long up the right and Liverpool put it out for a throw-in that Aina launches into the box. Van Dijk wins the header, a booming one upfield that comes off Aina and out for a Liverpool throw.
07:58 PM GMT
Full house
This feels like a big event, and the magnitude of tonight’s match is certainly evident in the press box.
For perhaps the first time since Forest’s promotion back to the Premier League two seasons ago, every seat is taken by press from across the world.
No news on the errant cat yet, by the way.
07:57 PM GMT
Out come the teams
Nottingham Forest in the Garibaldi red and white, Liverpool in a classic white and black combo, eschewing their green-tinged second strip.
07:47 PM GMT
Big Nik
When the debate for signing of the season is discussed in a few months, Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic should certainly be in the conversation.
Signed for just over £10m from Fiorentina in July, the Serbia international has been a revelation.
Earlier last week he sat down with me for his first UK newspaper interview since his signing.
07:43 PM GMT
A brief word from Nuno
You don’t need too much motivation. The players are ready and want to play, no need for a big team talk.
The momentum is good, I think it’s a good [starting] team [for us] to play. They have to stick to their tasks, be focused. They don’t need to prove anything to anyone. They should stick to the plans and enjoy themselves.
07:40 PM GMT
One more plug for this
There is something magical about night matches at the City Ground, when the floodlights beam back off the River Trent.
Battles between Forest and Liverpool are also the stuff of legend, from those epic showdowns of the late 1970s when Bob Paisley and Brian Clough taught supporters how to dream.
For a closer look at the rivalry between these two famous clubs, take a look at this piece by my esteemed colleague Chris Bascombe and myself.
07:39 PM GMT
The other three Premier League matches tonight
Are all in the capital and being followed by Kieran Crichard and you can catch updates from the London Stadium, Stamford Bridge and GTech Stadium here…
07:24 PM GMT
Calum Hudson-Odoi enjoys a walkie-talkie with Rio Ferdinand
"If I keep can going, who knows where it can take me?"
Callum Hudson-Odoi joins @rioferdy5 to discuss his impressive form and tonight's clash against Liverpool ⭐
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/MCQjiCEwOk— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 14, 2025
07:17 PM GMT
One blot
From 49 competitive matches with Feyenoord and Liverpool last year, Arne Slot suffered defeat just once.
That was at the hands of Nottingham Forest at Anfield in September, in what was the first big hint that Nuno Espirito Santo was building something special.
Slot has expressed frustration at that blemish on his Liverpool CV, though he did rein it in on Monday by admitting Forest did deserve to win.
Victory here would extend Liverpool’s lead over Arsenal and Forest to nine points.
If Forest complete the double, even the ultra-cautious Nuno might have to admit that his team are title contenders after all.
Quick newsflash - a cat is on the loose near the press box. Stewards are on the lookout.
07:16 PM GMT
Arne Slot speaks to TNT Sports
Not because I said they were title contenders but everyone has found this a very difficult place to play football. For us it was really difficult at Anfield as well! That’s because of the quality of the team and as well how [Nuno] sets the team up. It has been a difficult task for almost every team in the Premier League to play well against them. If that is the situation, then you can compete with the best teams like us, Chelsea and Arsenal.
When they played at Anfield Elanga and Hudson-Odoi didn’t start, they came on later and one assisted and the other one scored. It’s a reason for us to be aware of them, their wingers are one of the reasons they are so high in the table.
I’m used to it, after three or four months talking about contracts. {Post-match interviews, press conferences etc] have hardly ever been about results, always about the contracts. It’s now something else we talk about, transfers in and out and it doesn’t distract me at all. or my players who are completely focused on what we have to do.
At Anfield we hardly created any chance against them. I have watched lots of their games to try to find a weakness [exposed by other opponents] but it was very, very, very hard to find. They have had five clean sheets in the last games and those clean sheets don’t come from the keeper making lots of saves. It’s just very hard to create a chance against them.
07:04 PM GMT
Spirit > spending
When Arne Slot remarked that Nottingham Forest’s season was not such a surprise considering the money spent, it created quite a stir in this part of the east Midlands.
Slot had been complimentary in Monday’s press conference about Forest, who beat Liverpool at Anfield in September, but the comment about transfers was brought up entirely by himself.
“Money doesn’t play football, people do,” was the response from Nuno Espirito Santo, who insists Forest’s success is more about team spirit.
It was rather unfair of Slot, too. Forest’s starting XI here cost just over £110 million to assemble.
Not bad by Premier League standards, and less than Virgil van Dijk and Alisson combined.
The standout buys include Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic at £10m apiece, Callum Hudson-Odoi (£3m), Matz Sels (£5m) and Ola Aina (free).
07:01 PM GMT
And now for those of you watching in black and white
Nottingham Forest Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Yates; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Substitutes Miguel, Morato, Boly, Sosa, Dominguez, Ward-Prowse, Moreno, Jota Silva, Awoniyi.
Liverpool Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk, Konate, Robertson; Gravenberch, Mac Allister, Szoboszlai; Salah, Diaz, Gakpo.
Substitutes Kelleher, Tsimikas, Quansah, Bradley, Endo, Jones, Elliott, Chiesa, Diogo Jota.
Referee Chris Kavanagh (Ashton-under-Lyne).
06:49 PM GMT
Liverpool team news
One change from the Man Utd line-up, Dominik Szoboszlai replaces Curtis Jones:
Team news is in for our clash with Nottingham Forest ⚪️ #NFOLIV
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 14, 2025
06:47 PM GMT
Forest line-up
Nuno makes one change from the last Premier League starting XI, Ryan Yates coming in for Nicolas Dominguez.
Your Forest XI to face Liverpool. 👊 pic.twitter.com/6FyrPhvGFC
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 14, 2025
06:08 PM GMT
Tonight’s build-up from TNT Sports
Started with the screening of I Believe in Miracles, which is particularly poignant because since it was filmed Larry Lloyd and Trevor Francis have died. It’s a terrific documentary – catch it if you haven’t seen it.
05:27 PM GMT
Recommended reading
Nottingham Forest and Liverpool fans can be forgiven for turning up to the City Ground this week wearing flares, tank tops and humming the soundtrack to Saturday Night Fever.
It is 1978 again at the top of English football, Liverpool’s visit reviving a rivalry in which Bob Paisley’s and Brian Clough’s teams served up four years of epics.
Between Clough winning promotion to the old First Division in 1977 until 1981, Forest versus Liverpool was the era’s defining battle as European Cup lifts were shared between respective captains Emlyn Hughes, Phil Thompson and John McGovern.
Liverpool – considered the superpower of European football until Clough’s period of disruption – won only three of their first 15 games against Clough’s Forest. Paisley’s side, including legends Kenny Dalglish, Graeme Souness and Steve Heighway, managed just three goals in the first 10 fixtures.
“Forest became a thorn in our side and it became one of the biggest rivalries,” says Thompson, recalling how initial intrigue with the emerging force from the East Midlands rapidly turned into a recognition of their genuine threat. For a good few years it seemed like they had our number.”
You can read the full chat with Phil Thompson and John McGovern by clicking here…
05:21 PM GMT
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05:21 PM GMT
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05:19 PM GMT
Preview: Rolling back the years
While ‘We hate Nottingham Forest, we hate Liverpool too, and Leicester’ never scaled the profane heights of ‘My old man, he was a Tottenham fan and I said…’ it did reflect a brief but special four-year spell of success as the first two, but not Leicester who were just wedged in for scansion purposes as an extra diss, vied for domestic and European supremacy.
A couple of years on from Forest’s last appearance in the European Cup, they finished third behind Liverpool in 1983-84 as Brian Clough balanced the books after a couple of garbage transfers – and in the same position four years on from that but miles behind Kenny Dalglish’s new model Liverpool based around John Barnes, Peter Beardsley and John Aldridge. In 1994-95, Forest finished third for the fourth time in their top-flight history, one place above Liverpool but ever since then their paths diverged until 2022-23 when Taiwo Awoniyi’s winner in their first league meeting for 23 years revived the fixture.
Liverpool won the next three but Forest’s 1-0 win at Anfield in September, still Arne Slot’s only league defeat, was persuasive enough to suggest Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were ready to push for a top-10 finish. Their subsequent form and rise has only sharpened their ambitions and now third host first in a match that could be every bit as gritty and consequential as those Paisley-Clough classics.
Forest, who have won their last six successive Premier League matches and hence lead the division’s form table, made 11 changes for their 2-0 FA Cup third-round victory over Luton so should have their best XI well-rested for the 8pm kick-off. Ibrahim Sangaré, who has been out since August, is ‘back on the grass’ but remains the only first-team player unavailable to Nuno tonight.
Liverpool have six points fewer than Forest over their past six games (but maintain a six point lead over them with the Merseyside derby in hand), having won half and drawn the other three, and squeezed in that League Cup semi-final first leg against Tottenham as well as the FA Cup victory over Accrington Stanley last week. Only Trent Alexander-Arnold started their draw with Manchester United and their third-round tie as Slot shuffled his resources. Darwin Núñez, who scored last season’s winner at the City Ground, was booked as a second-half substitute against United and is suspended, joining the injured Joe Gomez on the sidelines.
