90min
·1 Februari 2025
90min
·1 Februari 2025
Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion are aiming to bounce back from disappointing defeats when they lock horns on Saturday lunchtime in the Premier League.
Forest were humiliated on their visit to Bournemouth last weekend, conceding five in a bruising defeat that brought them back down to earth. Nuno Espirito Santo's side are still perched in third but are now just three points from fifth-placed Newcastle United as they look to hold on to their Champions League qualification spot.
The Premier League's surprise overperformers have a challenging visit from Brighton to navigate in Saturday's early kick-off slot, with the Seagulls also aiming to recover from their underwhelming home defeat to the resurgent Everton last weekend. Having been on a barren run, the south coast side had won two league matches on the bounce before losing to the Toffees.
Here is 90min's guide to the clash.
Callum Hudson-Odoi could return / Michael Regan/GettyImages
Forest missed Callum Hudson-Odoi for their trip to Bournemouth last Saturday but the winger could make his comeback from a groin injury on Saturday. If he features, it will leave only defensive midfielder Ibrahim Sangare in the treatment room.
Chris Wood scored in the reverse fixture back in September and will be aiming to add to his 14 Premier League goals, while Morgan Gibbs-White will be seeking redemption against Brighton having been sent off in the 2-2 draw.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs Brighton (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Evan Ferguson could leave before the January window shuts / Mike Hewitt/GettyImages
Brighton have a number of injury concerns heading to the Midlands and have six confirmed absentees. Mats Wieffer and James Milner are both unavailable in midfield, while Jason Steele, Igor and Ferdi Kadioglu are missing in defence.
Speculation swirls over Evan Ferguson's future amid talk of a January exit but the Irishman will miss the Forest clash through injury.
Pervis Estupinan and Solly March are both doubtful to feature with knocks - neither making the squad against Everton.
Brighton predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Verbruggen; Veltman, Van Hecke, Dunk, Lamptey; Baleba, Ayari; Minteh, Pedro, Mitoma; Welbeck.
It will be interesting to see how Forest react to such a sizeable setback having only lost five games in the Premier League this season and none by such a one-sided margin. But Espirito Santo should find a reaction from his players and will have worked hard on tightening up their usually stern defence on the training ground.
Brighton always have the capacity to cause issues with their speed on the counter-attack but will be presented with a low and organised block for much of Saturday's affair. They may find it tough to carve open such a rigid shape.