Sutton’s Liverpool prediction comes with a warning about Forest

Liverpool’s Premier League trip to Nottingham Forest comes with the usual City Ground nerves, and Chris Sutton has now made his prediction for Arne Slot’s side ahead of Sunday’s 2pm kick-off.

The BBC Sports The pundit has backed us to increase the lead, but Sutton’s reasoning relies heavily on Forest’s problems in front of goal and the idea that Vitor Pereira will prioritize control in his first league game in charge.

He wrote: “We know Pereira will try to keep things tight, but Forest’s biggest problem this season is scoring goals and I’m not sure they can score at Liverpool.”

The former striker then compared the task to our recent league win at Sunderland, before narrowly scoring.

The 52-year-old added: “Arne Slot’s side became the first team to win at the Stadium of Light when they beat Sunderland in their last league match, and I see a similar result here. Sutton’s prediction: 0-1”

Chris Sutton’s Liverpool prediction and what it says about Forest

Sutton’s view is that Forest’s fourth managerial change of the season is likely to lead to a pragmatic approach, which makes sense given the way Morgan Gibbs-White spoke about “identity” after the Europa League victory at Fenerbahçe and how quickly the focus turns to us.

That matters for Liverpool because Pereira’s first league match is rarely the kind of match where patterns are clearly visible, and Slot has already hinted that it is difficult to prepare when personnel and principles can change quickly.

Opta’s figures are also in the background here, because according to the predictions of the supercomputer at City Ground, we are a small favorite, even if the history of this match feels anything but comfortable.

Liverpool’s recent record against Forest shows why this feels uncomfortable

Even with Sutton backing Slot’s men, our recent encounters with Forest explain why many of us will see this as a tight afternoon, especially away from Anfield where margins have often been slim.

Here are our last eight results against Nottingham Forest.

Date	Competition	Location	Result
November 22, 2025	Premier League	Anfield	Lose 0-3
January 14, 2025	Premier League	City land	Draw 1-1
September 14, 2024	Premier League	Anfield	Lose 0-1
March 2, 2024	Premier League	City land	Win 1-0
October 29, 2023	Premier League	Anfield	Win 3-0
April 22, 2023	Premier League	Anfield	Win 3-2
October 22, 2022	Premier League	City land	Lose 0-1
March 20, 2022	FA Cup	City land	Win 1-0

That run shows two things at once as we’ve had some strong Anfield days against Forest, but we’ve also found the City Ground a place where one goal can decide everything.

If Sutton is right and this ends 1-0, Liverpool will happily take the win in a season where points are the name of the game, especially with Arsenal and Manchester City setting the pace above us and the Champions League chase still firmly behind them.