Soccer English Premier League 5 March 2023

Nottingham vs Everton - Match Preview

This is a huge contest in the Premier League (PL) relegation battle, with both Nottingham Forest and Everton desperate to secure a positive result that could well shape the remainder of their seasons. Despite playing a game less, Forest comes into the contest four points better off than the visitors who start the round in 18th, meaning a win could potentially put some real daylight between them and the drop zone depending on results elsewhere.

Forest does come into this clash on a bit of a downer though after a humiliating 4-0 away defeat to a fellow relegation rival West Ham last time out, which perhaps adds extra significance to this game. However, Steve Cooper’s men tend to be a different animal at the City Ground, avoiding defeat in each of their previous eight PL matches there (W4, D4) - only Manchester United (11) can boast a longer active unbeaten home PL run.

It’s looking increasingly bleak for Everton who is quickly becoming one of the favourites to suffer just their third-ever relegation in their 145-year history and first since way back in 1951. Everton themselves come into the clash on the back of a 4-0 loss - away to leaders Arsenal in midweek - meaning each of their last four PL defeats has come ‘to nil’.

Everton’s two biggest issues are a lack of threat in attack, and an inability to perform on the road. The Toffees have long since come unstuck on the road, accumulating just three PL away wins since the start of last season (D8, L20) and have managed to score just one league goal on the road since Boxing Day which serves as a joint-league low.

📋 Players to watch: Forest’s Brennan Johnson scored in the reverse (1-1) and has netted three goals in his last three PL home games. More accustomed to the referee’s notebook than the scoresheet, Everton’s Amadou Onana has averaged one yellow card for every two appearances across his last 12 matches (including internationals).

⚡ Hot stat: Everton is winless in their last eight PL matches against promoted sides (D3 L5), the longest-ever such run by an ever-present PL side.