Nottingham Forest vs Fulham: Preview, predictions and lineups
Nottingham Forest have their unbeaten record in the Premier League to defend when they take on Fulham at the City Ground this weekend.
While Forest supporters entered the season with a sense of humble optimism, only the silliest of followers would have projected Nuno Espirito Santo’s side to be one of four unbeaten teams still left in the division through five games.
Forest have already recorded a historic win at Anfield and preserved their excellent start to the season with a 2-2 draw at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend. Their hopes of consolidating in the top-flight have been boosted greatly by their beginning to the new campaign, with Santo’s side currently eighth in the table.
Fulham are right on their tail, however, and Marco Silva’s side enter Saturday’s trip to Nottingham off the back of a hugely impressive 3-1 home win against Newcastle. The Cottagers once again appear to be a formidable outfit at Craven Cottage and may well push for a top-half finish should they improve on the road.
The west Londoners are four games unbeaten in the Premier League after losing to Manchester United on the opening night of the 2024/25 campaign.
Here is 90min’s guide to Nottingham Forest vs Fulham.
Nottingham Forest vs Fulham H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Nottingham Forest |
Fulham |
|---|---|
|
Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest – 22/09/24 |
Fulham 3-1 Newcastle – 21/09/24 |
|
Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest – 14/09/24 |
Preston 1-1 (16-15p) Fulham – 17/09/24 |
|
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Wolves – 31/08/24 |
Fulham 1-1 West Ham – 14/09/24 |
|
Nottingham Forest 1-1 (3-4p) Newcastle – 28/08/24 |
Ipswich Town 1-1 Fulham – 31/08/24 |
|
Southampton 0-1 Nottingham Forest – 24/08/24 |
Birmingham 0-2 Fulham – 27/08/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
N/A |
|
United States |
Peacock |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 6 Canad |
Morgan Gibbs-White is suspended for Saturday’s game after he picked up two yellow cards in Forest’s draw at Brighton. Santo could mitigate the playmaker’s absence by placing either James Ward-Prowse or Elliot Anderson in a more advanced midfield role.
Ramon Sosa was excellent off the bench at the AMEX Stadium and could get the nod down the right on Saturday, replacing speedster Anthony Elanga.
Willy Boly could return from injury before the international break, but the defender is expected to miss out again on Saturday. Boly remains sidelined with Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs Fulham (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Ward-Prowse; Sosa, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Fulham’s clean bill of health has undoubtedly aided their bright start to the season and Silva should have a full cohort of players to choose from yet again on Saturday.
Given how well the Cottagers played against Newcastle, the manager is unlikely to tinker too much with his team.
Sander Berge could replace Sasa Lukic in the midfield pivot, while Reiss Nelson, who’s scored on his previous two substitute appearances, could come in for Adama Traore down the right.
Fulham predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Leno; Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson; Berge, Pereira; Nelson, Smith Rowe, Iwobi; Jimenez.
Fulham have been ever so impressive at the start of the new season, with their dynamics in wide areas proving pivotal in their early success. However, a stout Forest team that’s emerged as a super counter-attacking unit will put the visitors‘ balance and stability to the test this weekend.
The hosts are without Gibbs-White which may limit their proficiency in transition, but their talisman hasn’t been overly productive through the first five weeks of the season. Others have stepped up and they’ll have to play a big role if Forest are to bypass Fulham on Saturday.
This could be a contest where Forest ride their luck with the visitors creating plenty without ever providing the finishing touch. As they’ve shown on several occasions this term, Nuno’s team merely need one sequence on the counter to steal all three points.