PREVIEW: Arsenal look to make it 11 without defeat at the City Ground
Goal-shy Nottingham Forest face a stern test from Premier League leaders Arsenal, who are seeking 11 unbeaten runs, at the City Ground on Saturday.
Sean Dyche, their third manager this season, has won eight of his 18 games in charge – but their goal return only ranks above Wolves, four places below them.
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At the other end of the table, the Gunners have extended their lead over Man City to nine points and are in pole position to win their first league title in 12 years.
Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White scoring his penalty in the final moments at West Ham seemed to be a very defining moment of the season.
The penalty and resulting victory put the Tricky Trees seven points clear of their relegation rivals, seriously damaging the mood of the west London club.
However, Sean Dyche’s reign was not very successful, with the Hammers not completely out of sight and out of mind despite their crucial victory.
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They did not follow through on this decision, however, losing to Wrexham in the FA Cup third round on penalties.
However, the exit could be a blessing in disguise, as the Trees’ main focus for now will be to build a points barrier between themselves and the bottom three.
Forest are far from their exploits of last season, one of the most notable examples being the move from free scoring to the second worst offensive record in the league.
Their top scorer from last season, Chris Wood, will be out until the end of the campaign with a knee injury, as Ryan Yates and goalkeeper John Victor are also injured.
Their weak offensive abilities will be put to the test on Saturday against the best defense in the league, which has conceded only 14 times in 21 league matches.
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Arsenal have made themselves almost inevitable in recent weeks, even despite what the harshest critics would call disappointing performances.
But they responded emphatically with a 4-1 defeat to Portsmouth and an important victory at Chelsea in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final.
William Saliba and Leandro Trossard both return, but defenders Piero Hincapie and Ricardo Calafiori both remain out with thigh and muscle injuries respectively.
Arsenal’s new signing Christian Mosquera is expected to spend the next month recovering from an ankle injury, leaving Mikel Arteta to rely on his star-studded defensive reserve.