Match Preview
Nottingham Forest vrs Fulham
Premier League Match Day 31 23_24 at The City Ground
Tuesday 2nd April 2024, KO: 19:30
Referee:
Michael Oliver (Northumberland)
TNT Sports 2
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Fulham visit Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday night seeking build on the 5-0 beating of Forest when they visited The Cottage.
Fulham boss Marco Silva would have had mixed feelings about his side's performance at the weekend away to bottom-placed Sheffield United.
Fulham's European push suffered a blow as they only managed a 3-3 draw at Bramall Lane, but after being 3-1 down with five minutes to play, Silva was pleased with the comeback from his players.
A tight VAR offside call prevented the Blades from going 4-1 up, and Fulham took advantage, with in-form Rodrigo Muniz scoring a stunning acrobatic strike in injury time to snatch a point.
The Cottagers remain 12th, four points shy of the top eight having also played a game more than all of the sides around them, weakening their chances of a return to Europe after over a decade away.
Forest have lost their last four games against Fulham here at the City Ground, including a 3-2 defeat in their first-ever Premier League meeting last season.
They were also on the receiving end of a 5-0 humbling at Craven Cottage earlier this season, in a result that was the beginning of the end for fans-favourite Steve Cooper, who was soon sacked and replaced by Nuno.
Nuno Espirito Santo's men have already earned one point since having four docked, and claiming another three here would give them a huge boost in the fight against relegation.
"We shall fight and we shall overcome" read a banner unfurled at the City Ground on Saturday, as the Forest faithful showed their desire to back the club in the face of Premier League sanctions.
In the first game since Forest were handed a four-point deduction, they managed to pull themselves out of the bottom three thanks to a 1-1 draw with Crystal Palace, paired with Luton Town's defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
Despite falling behind to Jean-Philippe Mateta's strike, and being fortunate to see Eberechi Eze miss two excellent chances, Chris Wood's superb header salvaged a point for under-pressure Nuno.
The result did extend their run of form to just one win in 10 games though, as Forest have lost six Premier League games in 2024 already.
With an appeal against their points deduction pending, Forest start the midweek schedule outside the bottom three on goal difference ahead of Luton, but they face a Fulham side who they have suffered against in recent seasons.
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Fulham have won all three of their Premier League fixtures against Nottingham Forest by an aggregate score of 10-2.
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The Cottagers are aiming to win four Premier League matches in a row against one opponent for the first time.
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Their average of 3.3 goals per-game against Forest is their highest against any Premier League opponent.
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Forest have lost their last four home league matches against Fulham, more than they had in their previous 23 matches against the Cottagers at the City Ground.
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Fulham have lost only two of their last nine league matches.
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They have scored at least three goals in nine different Premier League games this season, including in three of their last four. This is their highest such total since they did so in 10 top-flight matches in the 1965-66 campaign.
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Fulham have hit the woodwork 14 times in the top flight this season, a figure exceeded by only Liverpool (19) and Tottenham (15).
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Rodrigo Muniz has been involved in more Premier League goals than any other Fulham player this season (eight goals, one assist). All nine of those have come in his last eight appearances.
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Only Sheffield United have won fewer top-flight away games this season than Fulham, who have two victories on the road.
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Nottingham Forest won their final two league games of 2023 against Newcastle and Manchester United, but have managed just one victory in 10 top-flight matches this year (D3, L6).
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The Reds have kept just one clean sheet in their past 19 league matches.
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Forest have conceded the first goal in 17 different Premier League games this season, with only the bottom three doing so on more occasions.
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Five of Chris Wood's 10 league goals this season have been headers, a top-flight high.
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Wood has scored nine goals in his last 11 Premier League starts.
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He is one of only seven players to reach double figures for goals in five or more Premier League seasons since 2017-18.
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Source Andrew Delaney, at Sports Mole/BBCSports