Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United

The two hot Premier League relegation candidates, Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United, are set to trade tackles at the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest finished last season on a high, racking up a four-game unbeaten Premier League run (W2, D2) to avoid relegation by the skin of their teeth. However, their chances of maintaining that form at the start of the 2023/24 campaign were always minimal against last season’s runners-up Arsenal, as they expectedly lost 2-1 in London. Given Forest’s well-documented travel sickness, an opening-day defeat was barely a surprise for manager Steve Cooper, who has overseen 30 new signings since the summer of 2022. But he’ll be confident about turning around his side’s fortunes on home turf, safe in the knowledge his men haven’t lost to Sheffield at the City Ground in a regular season league game since December 2008 (W3, D2). Moreover, the ‘Tricky Trees’ have won their last three top-flight games on home turf!

As for Sheffield United, a 1-0 home loss to Crystal Palace last weekend wasn’t an ideal return to the Premier League, but considering they faced 24 shots, it could’ve been worse. A comprehensive squad overhaul at Bramall Lane in the summer has given manager Paul Heckingbottom little time to prepare tactics for the upcoming challenges. Sheffield’s poor four-game form on their competitive travels at the tail-end of last season cannot inspire much confidence either (W1, L3), especially considering the ‘Blades’ failed to score in all three defeats. Despite all the problems, there’s a silver lining for the visitor. They’re unbeaten in nine of their last ten Friday-held matches (W6, D3), holding Forest winless twice (W1, D1) during this stretch.