EPL Soccer – Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest
Week 4 of the English Premier League begins on Saturday, September 14. After a two-week break for international soccer, the Premier League is back with an exciting set of fixtures. Tread with a little caution as Matchday 4 not only comes after the EPL players have been all over the globe representing their countries but just before the first midweek round of Champions League fixtures.
How to Watch Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest
Where: Peacock
When: Saturday 10:00 a.m. ET
Liverpool vs. Nottingham Forest Odds
Liverpool -458 // Nottingham Forest +1167
Total: 3.5 (+108/-136)
I have been so impressed with the Liverpool transition to life after Jurgen Klopp and they have been superb under the management of Arne Slot. They look so well drilled, not quite so expansive or high energy but very patient and clinical.
Slot has already had the “Anfield experience.” It was business as usual, with a comfortable 2-0 defeat of Brentford on his debut in the home dugout. That made it 44 wins from 58 home EPL games over the last four seasons, a sequence which has seen them lose just twice.
Much is made of the fearsome Liverpool attack, but dig a little deeper and you will see it is just as much about their watertight defense. Yes, they have scored 146 times over those 58 fixtures, but they have conceded a league-low 43 goals at an average of just 0.74 keeping 27 clean sheets.
In line with the more controlled style of play, the Reds have won all three league games this season without conceding a goal, 2-0, 2-0, 3-0. That does not bode well for a Nottingham Forest side that lost both fixtures last term 1-0 and 3-0.
Taking Forest under 0.5 goals — in other words, not to score — makes great appeal. They have hit the back of the net exactly once in each of their opening three league games, but this trip to Merseyside is a massive step up in class from fixtures with Bournemouth, Southampton and Wolves.
There has been a big move on Liverpool to win the EPL title due to the greater balance they have shown in the early stages of the Slot era.
Another factor to consider is that on Tuesday, Liverpool will travel to Milan for their first Champions League game of the season. They will want to get this job done as early as possible and then close out the match, avoiding any injuries or overexertion from their key players. That will nullify Forest’s big asset of playing on the break into spaces left by opponents overcommitting.
Only the three relegated sides collected fewer points on the road than Nuno Espírito Santo’s men last season with only Everton (18) and Sheffield United (16) scored fewer than their 22 goals away from home. Not much, if anything has changed, other than the hosts are an even tougher nut to crack.
EPL Best Bet: Liverpool vs Nottingham Forest – Under 0.5 Nottingham Forest goals at -104.
