Match Preview
Nottingham Forest versus Fulham
Premiership Match Day 07 22/23 at The City Ground
Friday 16th September 2022 KO: 20:00
Referee:
Jarred Gillett (Australia)
|
Matt Law
Fulham head northward on Friday evening, to face Nottingham Forest, hoping to achieve their first away win of the season.
The Cottagers have been unable to secure back-to-back Premier League campaigns since 2014, finishing 19th and 18th in their last two seasons in the top flight, but there have been some positive signs this term.
Last season's Championship winners are currently 10th in the table, having picked up eight points from their first six matches courtesy of a record of two wins, two draws and two defeats.
Marco Silva's side drew their opening two games of the season against Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers before recording a 3-2 victory over Brentford at Craven Cottage on August 20.
Fulham have also beaten Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 at home, with the victory coming either side of 2-1 defeats at Arsenal and Tottenham, and their performances in the clashes with the North London duo would have given them plenty of encouragement that they can compete at this level.
There were fears that Aleksandar Mitrovic would be unable to carry his staggering goalscoring form from last season into the Premier League, but the 27-year-old has netted six times in six outings this term, and an impressive summer transfer window has given Silva plenty of options all over the pitch.
Nottingham Forest will be bidding to avoid a fourth straight defeat in the Premier League when they face Fulham.
The Reds, who are 19th in the table, will enter this contest off the back of a 3-2 home defeat to Bournemouth.
Forest earned promotion back to the Premier League via last season's Championship playoffs, and they had a quite remarkable summer transfer window, bringing in 21 players in total, which broke the English record for the most arrivals in one market.
Steve Cooper's side suffered a 2-0 defeat to Newcastle United in their opening match of the 2022-23 season but picked up four points from their next two games, beating West Ham United before drawing at Everton.
Forest have been given a bit of a reality check in recent matches, though, losing 2-0 at home to Tottenham Hotspur and 6-0 at Manchester City before suffering a 3-2 defeat to Bournemouth last time out.
The Reds were 2-0 ahead against the Cherries, with Cheikhou Kouyate and Brennan Johnson scoring in the first half, but Gary O'Neil's side netted three times without reply in the second half, with the winner for the visitors coming in the 87th minute in Nottinghamshire.
Forest, who are 19th in the table on four points, will have to learn quickly if they are to stay in the Premier League, but they lost 4-0 to Fulham in the corresponding match last season, and the Cottagers have made an encouraging start to their 2022-23 campaign.
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Fulham are unbeaten in their last four visits to Nottingham Forest, winning three of the games.
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Fulham are averaging 1.5 goals per game in the league this term, more than double their average from their 2020-21 top-flight campaign.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored six goals in Fulham’s opening six league games, including the past four. The last player to score in five straight Premier League matches for a newly promoted team was Peter Odemwingie for West Brom in May 2011. No-one has ever netted in five consecutive games for the Cottagers in the competition.
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Aleksandar Mitrovic has scored in each of Fulham's last two visits to the City Ground
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Nottingham Forest are the only side to have faced 100 or more shots in the Premier League this season (104), while they’ve also faced the most shots on target (42) and have the highest expected goals against tally this term (12).
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Forest’s Brennan Johnson has scored 18 league goals since the start of last season, more than any other player aged 21 or under in England’s top four tiers.
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