The City Ground is the venue for a fascinating Premier League contest on Sunday afternoon, as high-flying Nottingham Forest pit their wits against Newcastle United.
Nuno Espirito Santo's team hit West Ham United for three last weekend to surge into the top three of the Premier League table, while the Magpies put a massive dent in Arsenal's title aspirations.
Match preview
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The Tricky Trees have been pulling up trees and then some in the early portion of the Premier League season, out-performing all of Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur to nab the final place on the podium after 10 matches.
After ending October with back-to-back triumphs over Leicester City and Crystal Palace, Forest ran a 10-man West Ham ragged in gameweek 10, where Chris Wood nodded in his eighth goal of the campaign before Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina provided the icing and cherry on top.
Trailing Liverpool by six points and Manchester City by a mere four ahead of this weekend's action, Forest's start to 2024-25 has been beyond their avid supporters' wildest dreams, as Santo works the magic that also got Wolverhampton Wanderers into Europe during his spell at the Molineux helm.
Furthermore, with a mere three goals conceded at the City Ground in the current campaign, no Premier League team boasts a better home defensive record than Santo's team, who are aiming to win four top-flight games running for the first time since 1994-95.
That year, the Tricky Trees did end up finishing in third place in the table - an extremely positive omen if they can clip the Magpies' wings this weekend - but Eddie Howe's men also have a spring in their step after the events of last weekend.
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Now celebrating three years in the Newcastle hotseat, Howe received the best sort of early anniversary present during last Saturday's lunchtime battle with Arsenal, where Alexander Isak met a pinpoint Anthony Gordon cross with a fabulous header to gun down the Gunners.
With Martin Odegaard helplessly watching on from the sidelines, Newcastle's full-back younglings Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall did a number on Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka; the latter's reward was a first-ever call-up to the senior England team.
The beating of Arsenal marked a second straight home success for Newcastle after they dumped Chelsea out of the EFL Cup, and it has gone some way to helping them reignite a push for Europe, as they lie 11th in the standings with a one-point deficit to make up to seventh-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
However, Newcastle have not been able to replicate their St James' Park displays in their most recent road battles, only taking one point from their last three Premier League games away from home against Fulham, Everton and Chelsea, and they are yet to win a top-flight match by more than one goal this season.
The City Ground is often a happy hunting ground for the Northern giants, though, as they have never lost in six Premier League visits to Nottingham Forest's ground - winning three and drawing three - although few Magpies fans need reminding of Wood's haunting hat-trick at his old St James' Park home last season.
Team News
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There has been no change to the Forest injury situation since the win over West Ham, as Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare remain sidelined on account of their ankle and thigh problems, but James Ward-Prowse is available again after being unable to face his parent club.
However, both he and ex-Newcastle star Elliot Anderson are fighting uphill battles to force their way back into the first XI, as Ryan Yates, Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White should form an untouched central crowd.
Just ahead of them, hotshot Wood - whom Howe has been singing the praises of ahead of this game - reunites with his erstwhile team having scored in each of his last four Premier League appearances; he has never netted in five straight matches in the competition.
Speaking of players facing their old clubs, Joe Willock's afternoon against Arsenal ended prematurely when he came off midway through the second half, but there is no suggestion that the injury-plagued midfielder has suffered a setback that could render him unavailable for Sunday.
As a result, Howe should only be without his known injury victims in Sven Botman (knee), Jamaal Lascelles (knee), Kieran Trippier (thigh), Callum Wilson (back), but he has confirmed that Jacob Murphy should make his return from a hamstring problem this weekend.
Murphy will no doubt hope to provide impetus from the bench as Joelinton and Gordon continue to feed Isak, who has three goals under his belt from just two Premier League appearances against Nottingham Forest.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Dominguez, Yates; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Newcastle United possible starting lineup:
Pope; Livramento, Schar, Burn, Hall; Longstaff, Guimaraes, Willock; Gordon, Isak, Joelinton
We say: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Newcastle United
As scintillating as Forest were against West Ham, they were aided by Edson Alvarez's red card on the stroke of the break, and an 11-man Newcastle side will provide a much sterner test.
Regardless, we are struggling to back the Magpies to breach the Tricky Trees' resilient backline more than once, especially given their recent difficulties on the road, so it may be honours even at the final whistle.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
