Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper says there is “no ill feeling” with Jonjo Shelvey after their recent falling-out and the midfielder will be available for the visit to Brentford.

Shelvey, who has been carrying a knock, was left out of Wednesday’s win over Brighton as a result of his tantrum at also being omitted from the previous match at Liverpool.

Cooper says the incident has been blown out of proportion and their relationship is fine ahead of the crucial run-in.

Asked whether he was left out against Brighton as a result of his behaviour prior to the Anfield trip, Cooper said: “And a knock to be honest. Sometimes things are not exactly what they are and we have to accept that.

“Everyone is good, we are looking forward. He is really well liked in the dressing room and we need everybody in the situation we are in, with the injuries we are picking up.

“There is no ill feeling in any way, shape or form, regardless of what may or may not have been said. We need everyone to stick together and get behind everybody and that’s what we’re doing.

“Jonjo is available. He was carrying a knock last week and there was one or two other things, it is not a big a drama as was said, in some ways it was a training ground thing, but it is past us and we are looking forward to going to Brentford. He is 100 per cent available.”

Neco Williams will not be available after he suffered a fractured jaw in the win over Brighton and will miss the rest of the season following surgery.

The injury came just as the Wales international had regained his place in the team.

Cooper said: “Not good, when you saw the collison on the pitch, you feared the worst and unfortunately it is bad news, with the fractured jaw.

“He has had an operation and it has gone well in a difficult situation for him and it rules him out for the season and now he is on the road to recovery.

“It is a difficult situation for him, he got himself back into the team recently and was playing well and a confidence about him and had a spring in his step. It’s a blow for us and a blow for him.”

Forest will assess Moussa Niakhate, who suffered a hamstring injury against the Seagulls, and Taiwo Awoniyi, who suffered a shoulder problem.

On Niakhate, Cooper said: “It is still inconclusive with that one, we will have to see with regards to tomorrow but we definitely did the right thing, he felt something in the game and we were able to make the change but regarding the extent of his availability we will have to see on that.”

Nottingham Forest defender Neco Williams says he is “gutted” that he will miss the rest of the season after sustaining a fractured jaw in his side’s 3-1 win over Brighton.

Forest claimed their first win in a dozen matches on Wednesday to boost their hopes of avoiding relegation, moving one point above the Premier League bottom three after seeing off the Seagulls.

But victory came at a cost as Williams suffered a nasty blow after an inadvertent collision with team-mate Brennan Johnson.

He was stretchered off and immediately taken to hospital, where he had surgery and is set to return home on Friday afternoon, according to a statement from Forest on Thursday evening.

While Forest did not give an indication of how long he would be out for, the Welshman himself indicated he will play no further part in the campaign with five matches remaining.

He wrote on Twitter: “Absolutely buzzing the lads got the win yesterday but at the same time I am gutted to say my seasons over for sustaining a broken jaw.

“I will do everything I can to help my teammates bring home those points every game.”

The 22-year-old has made 34 appearances in all competitions this season since joining Forest from Liverpool last summer in a transfer worth £17million.

Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi does not know whether his side have the squad depth required to cope with a hectic run of games.

The Seagulls’ European dream suffered a big blow on Wednesday night as they were beaten 3-1 at Nottingham Forest, where De Zerbi said his players lacked energy just three days after they lost the FA Cup semi-final to Manchester United on penalties.

They now have eight games to play in a month as they aim to qualify for European football for the first time in their history.

Asked whether his squad is light, the Italian replied: “I don’t know. For sure I am honest and I don’t want to speak in this way when we lose the game.

“I am proud of my players even though we lost. We will speak with (chairman) Tony (Bloom) at the end of the season. We are suffering too many injuries in this moment.

“I said this game was the most important game of the season. I knew the game was very, very, very tough. It was very tough for the energy but for the head too. The big teams are used to playing today, tomorrow, at four o’clock in the night, at nine o’clock in the morning, in the afternoon with the rain or sun. We are working on this.

“I think we can reach this level. I am speaking with Tony (Bloom). If we want to reach this level I think it is better to say I know the way. I will work hard to reach this level. I am not speaking about the table, I am speaking about the mentality.”

For Forest, victory gave their survival chances a much-needed shot in the arm as they climbed out of the bottom three.

Boss Steve Cooper was delighted that his side stuck to a plan to deliver a first three points in 12 games.

“We were never going to have a competition of possession or passes with them, because that wouldn’t have been the right plan,” Cooper said. “I asked the players at half-time to continue, not to get too frustrated – because some parts of the game they wouldn’t have enjoyed greatly – but I said they would get their rewards.

“We scored the second goal completely from the plan. The little box they play in midfield, with the centre-backs and the midfield players, is good, but if you do get it, it’s a really open pitch. We managed to take advantage of that.

“The players stuck to the plan brilliantly. It’s not as if we’ve been winning every week, so for the players to show that mentality and confidence in the game…We should take a lot of heart from that.”

Nottingham Forest gave their Premier League survival hopes a much-needed shot in the arm after beating Brighton 3-1 at the City Ground.

Forest were on a seemingly irreversible slide back to the Championship after a horror run of 11 games without a win going back to February, but they stopped the rot and moved out of the bottom three.

Another defeat had been on the cards after the Seagulls went ahead through Facundo Buonanotte’s goal on his first Premier League start after Brennan Johnson had missed an early penalty for Forest.

But an own goal by Pascal Gross on the stroke of half-time followed by second-half efforts from Danilo and Morgan Gibbs-White gave them a vital win.

This will renew belief that they can avoid the drop in their first season in the top flight in 23 years and also probably ends any lingering doubts over Steve Cooper’s future.

Brighton were looking to bounce back from the heart-breaking FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester United, but this loss hurt their European ambitions as they dropped to eighth, but they do have games in hand on the teams above them.

With their exertions on Sunday at Wembley, Forest sniffed an opportunity and they started brightly in the hope of catching their visitors cold.

They forged the perfect chance to get the advantage they needed when they were awarded an early penalty after Pervis Estupinan clumsily fouled Neco Williams.

Jason Steele was on the bench for Brighton at Wembley and watched on as Robert Sanchez failed to save any United penalties in the shoot-out and he showed his team-mate how it was done, beating away Johnson’s effort in the 10th minute.

There was a sense that Forest really needed that to go in as Brighton began to take control.

Kaoru Mitoma was a constant threat and he almost created an opener as he skinned Serge Aurier and Felipe down the left and teed up Julio Enciso, whose shot was spectacularly tipped over the crossbar by Keylor Navas.

Forest had struggled to recreate that early energy, yet they had another brilliant opportunity to go ahead in the 32nd minute when Danilo sent Johnson clear on goal but, under a challenge from Lewis Dunk, the Wales international put his shot wide.

There was no way that Forest were going to get away with missing two such golden opportunities and Brighton went ahead five minutes later.

They had Navas to thank as a double blunder allowed Buonanotte to enjoy the perfect full league debut.

The Chilean goalkeeper’s poor goal-kick handed possession straight back to the visitors and then he could only palm out Solly March’s shot into the danger area, giving the 18-year-old the easiest of tap-ins.

But to their credit, Forest kept going and crucially got themselves level deep into first-half stoppage time.

A nice move saw Taiwo Awoniyi set up Renan Lodi on the left and his cross was turned in by Gross at the near post, with Steele only able to get a hand on it.

To go into the break level was huge for Forest, though they almost fell behind just before the hour as Brighton sliced them open on the counter attack.

Buonanotte was sent clear and he cleverly held onto possession before slipping in Mitoma, who put his first-time effort agonisingly wide.

A lengthy delay after a nasty injury to Williams, who was carried off on a stretcher after clashing with Johnson, seemed to change the atmosphere in the City Ground and the lid was lifted off in the 69th minute as Forest took the lead.

Danilo did well to close down Moses Caicedo on the halfway line and then raced on to Awoniyi’s pass before slotting into the far corner to send the home fans wild.

Gibbs-White had the chance to make it a more comfortable final 20 minutes, but he shot over from the edge of the area and Forest had some defending to do.

But any nerves were settled in stoppage time as they were awarded another penalty after VAR spotted a handball by Dunk from a corner and Gibbs-White did what Johnson failed to do by sending Steele the wrong way.

Mohamed Salah's goalscoring feats are underappreciated by those outside Liverpool, believes his Reds team-mate Virgil van Dijk.

Salah scored his 183rd goal for Liverpool to clinch a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest on Saturday, after Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White struck to cancel out Diogo Jota's brace.

The Egyptian's close-range finish saw him match Robbie Fowler's goal tally for Liverpool in 71 fewer appearances, taking him to joint-sixth in the club's all-time scoring charts.

Salah has scored 27 goals across all competitions during an underwhelming season for Liverpool, and he now has Steven Gerrard's total of 186 goals for the Reds in his sights.

Asked about Salah's goalscoring exploits after Saturday's win, Van Dijk suggested the forward is underrated by those not of a Red persuasion. 

"Most of the players here have contributed to winning big trophies. Mo will definitely be seen as a legend. He's such an important player," Van Dijk told reporters.

"At a later stage, I think the things he's done will be appreciated a lot more by the outside world.

"For us, we appreciate everything he does day in, day out. We see all the hard work that he puts in. He just has to keep it going."

Having also scored in a 2-2 draw with Arsenal before grabbing a brace in a 6-1 thrashing of Leeds United, Salah has now netted in three successive Premier League games for the first time since October 2021 (during a run of seven).

Meanwhile, only Ollie Watkins (14) and Erling Haaland (13) have bettered his return of 12 Premier League goal involvements since the turn of the year.

Liverpool remain nine points adrift of the top four despite winning back-to-back games, and Van Dijk says the team's below-par campaign has been an eye-opener.

"We are very privileged. We're going out there, performing for one of the biggest clubs in the world," he said. "This season, at times, you have to remind yourself that we're really blessed.

"Everyone wants to win, no one wants to make mistakes and lose. We have been very successful over the years.

"We just need to find that joy. I'm certainly happy and buzzing to be out there, trying to get good results to put a run together."

Liverpool's ability to react to adversity in their 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest proves the Reds are rediscovering their belief, according to two-goal hero Diogo Jota.

Liverpool were tested by the relegation candidates as goals from Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White cancelled out Jota's brace, but Mohamed Salah's close-range finish ensured the Reds edged a back-and-forth encounter at Anfield.

While competing for a top-four Premier League finish looks a tall order for Jurgen Klopp's men, they have now clinched back-to-back victories after enduring a five-game winless run.

Liverpool also recovered from two goals down to draw with league leaders Arsenal before their victories over Leeds United and Forest, and Jota hopes to build on their improved run of form.

"Twice [we had to respond]. I think that is important, that shows that the team is believing more in ourselves each time, and that's really important to take for the future," he told the club's website.

"It gives confidence to the team. We believe in what we are doing and against Arsenal the win was there for us, but unfortunately in the end we could not take it. 

"But it's two in a row already and this is the only way we can fight to be in the highest possible position in the table."

Having also scored twice in a 6-1 rout of Leeds on Monday, Jota has hit four goals in his last two Premier League games after failing to score in his previous 20 appearances in the competition.

Reflecting on the end of his goal drought, Jota said: "I said before the first goal, it's always hard when it doesn't arrive so easily, but then everything seems to flow."

A day after a dramatic night before following Arsenal and Southampton's nail-biting 3-3 draw, there were five more games primed to excite the masses in the Premier League.

After Fulham handed Leeds United another damaging defeat, Nottingham Forest were denied any points as well despite an impressive effort at Liverpool.

Roy Hodgson's winning return to Crystal Palace came to an end after a determined Everton took a point from Selhurst Park, though it was not enough to stop them from slipping into the relegation zone after Leicester City beat Wolves, with Timothy Castagne hitting the winner at the King Power Stadium.

Douglas Luiz won a late point for Aston Villa at Brentford to maintain Unai Emery's impressive record since arriving at the club.

Stats Perform has taken a look at some of the more interesting Opta facts from Saturday's Premier League action.

Fulham 2-1 Leeds United: Cottagers add to Whites woes

It has been quite a return to the Premier League for Fulham, who have won 13 games this season, their joint-second highest tally in a single campaign (14 wins in four different seasons). In fact, it is one more victory than they managed in their previous two top-flight campaigns combined (seven in 2018-19 and five in 2020-21).

Leeds came into this having conceded 11 goals in their last two games, both at home, but have now also kept just one clean sheet in their last 18 Premier League away games.

Harry Wilson scored in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since his first ever two appearances in the competition in August 2019.

With two more at Craven Cottage on Saturday, Andreas Pereira has had more shots on target from outside the box than any other player in England's top-flight this season (17). However, all four of his goals this season have been from inside the box, including his goal here.

Only Liverpool and Brighton (four) have benefitted from more own goals in the Premier League than Leeds this season (three), with Joao Palhinha turning into his own net. Only in 1997-98 (four) have the Whites ever benefitted from more own goals in a single Premier League campaign.

Brentford 1-1 Aston Villa: Bees stung by late Villa leveller

An 87th-minute equaliser for Aston Villa meant they have scored in all 19 of their Premier League games under Unai Emery, the longest consecutive scoring run any team has had from the start of a manager/head coach's tenure in the competition's history.

Brentford are now winless in six Premier League games (D3 L3), only between January and February 2022 have they been on a longer run without victory in the competition (eight games).

Ivan Toney registered his 40th goal involvement in the Premier League (31 goals, nine assists), on his 65th appearance, with only Harry Kane (40), Mohamed Salah (39) and Erling Haaland (32) netting more than Toney since the start of last season.

Seven of Douglas Luiz' nine goal involvements in the Premier League this season have come under Emery (three goals, four assists), with only Ollie Watkins involved in more goals (20) for Villa this season.

Crystal Palace 0-0 Everton: Holgate sees red but Toffees stick to it

The Eagles failed to score in a Premier League game for the first time since Hodgson returned to the club, having averaged three per game across his previous three matches in charge.

Palace are unbeaten in four Premier League games in that time though (W3 D1) and have kept clean sheets in each of their last two, having kept just two clean sheets in their previous 14 league matches.

Everton slipped into the bottom three despite a well-earned point, and are now winless in their last 12 Premier League away matches (D4 L8) and have failed to score a goal in nine of those matches. However, they kept their first clean sheet away from home since October.

Mason Holgate saw red late on after two yellow cards. Everton have now received two red cards in their last four league matches having previously not received one in the league since May 2022, when both Jarrad Branthwaite and Salomon Rondon were given their marching orders against Brentford.

Leicester City 2-1 Wolves: Foxes outwit Wolves

A massive win for Dean Smith's side in the fight against relegation saw them end their nine-game winless run in the Premier League (D1 L8), with this their first victory since February against Tottenham.

Wolves have won just one of their last 26 away league games against Leicester (D9 L16) and remain winless in their last seven at the King Power Stadium, last succeeding in a 4-1 victory in the Championship in May 2007.

No side has conceded more goals from outside the box in the Premier League this season than Leicester's 14 after Matheus Cunha's opener for Wolves (level with Nottingham Forest). The Foxes last conceded more goals from distance in a single top-flight campaign back in 1994-95 (18).

Only Raheem Sterling (23) has won more penalties in Premier League history than Leicester's Jamie Vardy (22), who gave Kelechi Iheanacho the chance to level things from the spot.

Iheanacho (30 goals and 20 assists) became the seventh player to reach 50 Premier League goal involvements for Leicester and the third non-Englishman to do so after Muzzy Izzet (59) and Riyad Mahrez (66).

Liverpool 3-2 Nottingham Forest: Forest beaten despite finally finding scoring touch on the road

It was a nervy afternoon at Anfield for Liverpool, who have now lost only one of their previous 36 Premier League games against newly promoted sides at home (W29 D6), winning each of their last five, and scoring 20 goals during that run.

However, they needed to score three here after Forest scored twice in a Premier League game for the first time since May 1999 against Blackburn (2-1 win), and the first time they have done so and not won since December 1998 against Sheffield Wednesday (also a 3-2 defeat).

Forest have lost each of their last six away league games for the first time in the Premier League, and for the first time in the top-flight since December 1979 under Brian Clough.

After a run of 20 league games without a goal, Diogo Jota has scored four in his last two appearances for Liverpool, and is the first Reds player to net at least two goals in successive games in the competition since Salah in November 2017.

Salah has now scored in three successive Premier League games for the first time since October 2021 (a run of seven), while in 2023, only Watkins (14) and Haaland (13) have more goal involvements in the competition than his 12 (nine goals, three assists).

Jordan Henderson hailed Liverpool's "reaction to the setbacks" in their narrow 3-2 Premier League victory over struggling Nottingham Forest.

Jurgen Klopp's side edged a five-goal thriller at Anfield on Saturday, despite twice being pegged back as strikes from Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White cancelled out goals from Diogo Jota.

Mohamed Salah's 70th-minute effort settled the contest, in which the hosts were twice caught out by long throw-ins, as they made it back-to-back wins.

Though acknowledging there is plenty of room for improvement, Henderson was pleased by his team-mates' character.

"The good thing is we kept going, not once, but twice, and we kept going and to find the winner is definitely a positive," the Reds captain told Sky Sports.

"But of course, we shouldn't be in that position in the first place with the experience on the pitch.

"We made it more difficult for ourselves. We could defend the long throw-ins a bit better, and conceding two from that is something we can work on for sure.

"But overall, I'm delighted with the reaction to the setbacks and to still get the winner.

"We knew the type of game it would be, and we had to be patient with the ball, wait for the right chances."

Meanwhile, Klopp celebrated his 100th league win at Anfield (in 144 games), with only Bob Paisley (131) and Bill Shankly (139) reaching a century in fewer matches.

The Reds boss knows his side must improve, telling BBC Sport: "We deserve the three points, which is the most important thing. I liked that we stayed in the game.

"In too many situations we couldn't clear properly, but apart from that I am really pleased with a lot of things.

"We gave away two goals too easy and in a game like this, you have to control possession. You don't have to force it, and sometimes we forced it."

On Jota, he added: "That's what goals can do, they give you a boost and confidence.

"He did miss a sitter [earlier on], which was the easiest out of them all, but the second goal was very special."

Mohamed Salah scored the winner as Liverpool edged out Nottingham Forest 3-2 in a five-goal Premier League thriller at Anfield on Saturday.

Jurgen Klopp's side were pegged back twice as former Red Neco Williams and Morgan Gibbs-White cancelled out goals from Diogo Jota.

But Salah's 183rd Liverpool goal – moving him level with Robbie Fowler – sealed the points 20 minutes from time.

The Reds close the gap on fourth-placed Newcastle United to six points, having played one game more, while ensuring their opponents remain inside the relegation zone.

Keylor Navas came to Forest's rescue in the 26th minute with a tremendous reflex save to deny Virgil van Dijk's close-range header, while Williams thwarted Cody Gakpo on the line.

But the hosts broke through within two minutes of the restart. Forest failed to clear a corner and Fabinho's header back into the danger zone was flicked home by Jota.

Forest responded well and levelled four minutes later following a sweeping move that saw Gibbs-White find Williams, whose first-time shot deflected in via Andrew Robertson.

However, Robertson turned provider as Liverpool regained the advantage within four minutes, Jota taking advantage of sloppy defending to control his free-kick before drilling a volley past Navas.

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper did brilliantly to deny Jota a hat-trick before Forest levelled again, Gibbs-White's volley deflecting off Trent Alexander-Arnold and into the bottom corner.

But Salah edged the hosts back in front 20 minutes from time, reacting quickest to steer home Alexander-Arnold's free-kick.

Substitute Brennan Johnson almost rescued a point when he hit the crossbar, as the Reds held out for victory.

Jurgen Klopp says Darwin Nunez is "a long-term project" at Liverpool and insists the striker is "still adapting" to life with the Reds.

The Uruguay international, who moved to Anfield from Benfica ahead of this season for an initial fee of £64million, has scored 15 goals in 37 appearances during his debut season with Liverpool, who are eighth in the Premier League and nine points off the top four.

Although, Nunez has found game time hard to come by in recent times, starting just one of the Reds' last four matches, with Klopp opting for a front three of Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Diogo Jota.

But the Reds boss, who will be without Roberto Firmino for the visit of Nottingham Forest on Saturday due to a muscle injury, insists the 23-year-old will get plenty of opportunities between now and the end of the season.

"Darwin is a player with a different skill set to our other players, which is good," Klopp said during his pre-match press conference. "He's a real handful, a machine.

"He will score a lot of goals, and he's scored a decent number already. But of course, he's still adapting. His English still isn't great, but we're working on that.

"It's not helpful to go through a debut season when it's difficult for the whole team. How can a striker shine when the whole team is struggling? It's not impossible, but he's had some super moments.

"He was injured in some moments, suspended in others. This is a long-term project.

"I understand that he wants to play desperately from the beginning, but we have to find a way that really works for us again and then fit in the players we can use with the specific strengths.

"I am completely fine with the situation and I understand that Darwin isn't always fine. He doesn't smile in my face when he realises he won't start and say: 'thank you, boss'. 

"But when you have five or six players available up front, you have to make decisions. The door is miles open. He came on the other night and was exceptional. It was exactly the right way. With five games in the next two weeks, Darwin will start games, definitely."

With Luis Diaz also returning to fitness in recent weeks, what must Nunez do to give himself the best opportunity to regain his place in the starting line-up?

"The ticket into this team must be and will be counter-pressing," Klopp added. "We had so many games where I didn't like that, and it's a pretty strict thing.

"All five available now can do it pretty well. If you do it in a game you play, then you'll have a good chance of starting again.

"We have opportunities to change and with five games in the next two weeks, there will be changes. Everyone will play, everyone is super important to us.

"But the ticket will be the desire to win the ball back after we've lost it, because we had so many times when that made the difference in games. It's super important against deep-defending sides."

Jurgen Klopp told Liverpool's forwards counter-pressing will always be the "ticket" into his starting lineup, as Roberto Firmino was ruled out of Saturday's game against Nottingham Forest.

Liverpool ended a five-match winless run by thrashing Leeds United 6-1 last time out, with attacking quartet Cody Gakpo, Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota and Darwin Nunez all on target.

Liverpool are looking to move within six points of the Premier League's top four when they host Forest, before Champions League contenders Newcastle United and Tottenham face off on Sunday.

The Reds will be without Firmino for their next game after he sustained a muscle injury, which could also force him to sit out meetings with West Ham and Tottenham next week.

"Unfortunately Bobby picked up a muscle issue, we'll see how long that takes," Klopp said.

"It's not too serious, but he's definitely out for tomorrow and next week we have two more games. I'd say those are impossible as well, we will see. We have to take it day by day."

With Luis Diaz's return from injury adding to Liverpool's options in attack, Klopp was asked how he selects a three-man frontline from the six elite forwards in his squad.

"The ticket into this team will definitely be counter-pressing," he said. "That's where everything started, I wouldn't say that we lost it a little bit… but we had so many games where I didn't like that.

"That's a pretty strict thing. All five available right now – six with Bobby – can do it pretty well. But if you do it in the games you play, you have the chance to start again.

"Everybody's super important and everyone will play, but again, the ticket will be the desire to win the ball back as soon as we lose it, because we had so many times where that made a difference."

The fierce competition for places in Liverpool's attack has seen Nunez start their last two games on the bench, and Klopp says the Uruguayan is still adapting amid a difficult debut season.

"Darwin is a player with a different skillset to all our other players. He's a real handful and he already scored a decent number of goals," Klopp said.

"Of course, he's still adapting, his English is still not great if it exists at all – we are working on that. 

"It's not helpful to go through a difficult debut season for the whole team. How can a striker shine when the whole team is struggling? 

"It's no problem at all, this is a long-term project. I understand that he wants to play from the beginning, but we have to find a way of playing that works for us, then fit in the players." 

Jurgen Klopp has no interest in looking beyond Saturday's Premier League game against Nottingham Forest, knowing Liverpool must realistically win every match to have a hope of qualifying for the Champions League.

The Reds are nine points behind fourth-placed Newcastle United with only eight games to play.

Although they have a favourable schedule, time is running out for a team who have been wildly inconsistent.

Klopp acknowledged that inconsistency on Friday as he described Liverpool's "average season" that has included "a couple of the highest results in this club's history".

Ahead of the first of five remaining home matches, Klopp's full focus was on Forest.

"When you are in a super moment in a season, the only game you have to worry about is the next one," he said. "If you are not in a super moment, you also only have to worry about the next one.

"I could not care less about where we are playing after tomorrow, to be honest. 

"Whatever we can do this season, the only thing that gives us any chance is to win our games. All our focus is on Nottingham."

Forest are on a 10-match winless run but won the reverse fixture, even if Steve Cooper recognises this is a very different task.

"Playing Liverpool at Anfield is different and we know everything that comes with that, but the moment we stop believing we can win games that's when it becomes really difficult," Cooper said.

"It's a big challenge but a great challenge as well and one we're really tackling."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Liverpool – Trent Alexander-Arnold

Alexander-Arnold is thriving in a new hybrid midfield role, tallying three assists across his past two games, including the 50th of his Premier League career against Leeds United on Monday. He is the third-youngest player to hit that mark and is coming back into form at a key stage of the season.

Nottingham Forest – Taiwo Awoniyi

Awoniyi returned to the line-up against Manchester United last time out, making just his 10th start of the league season three months on from his ninth. He has been restricted to just four goals, but three of those have come in 1-0 wins, including against Liverpool. Now would be a good time to come up with another.

MATCH PREDICTION – LIVERPOOL WIN

Both the form book and the history books are quite clear on this one. Liverpool have lost only one of their past 37 home league games, while they are unbeaten in 23 home league games against Forest.

That last Forest league win at Anfield was back in 1969, and to end that barren run would mean becoming only the third promoted team to do the double over Liverpool in the Premier League era.

Including in the reverse match at the City Ground, Forest have only won this season when keeping a clean sheet, yet they have now conceded in 10 consecutive games, hence their winless run.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Liverpool – 76.7 per cent

Forest – 7.1 per cent

Draw – 16.2 per cent

Trent Alexander-Arnold's ability to step into midfield was never in doubt, says Jurgen Klopp, but the Liverpool boss has warned his new hybrid role cannot solve all the Reds' problems.

Alexander-Arnold produced an impressive display in Monday's 6-1 rout of Leeds United at Elland Road, drifting infield from his right-back position to register two assists.

By teeing up goals for Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez, Alexander-Arnold reached 50 Premier League assists – only Kevin De Bruyne (84), Andrew Robertson (53) and Mohamed Salah (53) have managed more in the competition since his December 2016 debut.

Alexander-Arnold's position has been the subject of much debate this term, with his defensive shortcomings being criticised amid a poor campaign for Liverpool.  

Asked whether Alexander-Arnold would remain in his new role for the long term, Klopp said: "We will see that. 

"In all the positions he played for us, Trent has always been a super important player. This slightly advanced role, at the moment, suits him really well. It's good.

"It's a challenge for everybody else to cover the spaces when we lose the ball, theoretically, but with him there we didn't lose many balls [against Leeds], which was helpful. 

"It's not written in stone or whatever. He can play in different ways, and how he played in the last two games was really, really good. That's true."

Having only registered two assists in his first 27 Premier League appearances this season, Alexander-Arnold has three in his last two ahead of Saturday's meeting with Nottingham Forest at Anfield.

Liverpool approach that game nine points adrift of the Premier League's top four, and while Klopp has been delighted with Alexander-Arnold's impact in his new role, he knows the 24-year-old cannot solve all the team's problems.

"It's not the first time we played it like that. It's slightly different, but not as different," Klopp continued. "Trent's a smart player, but it's more about how we set up around Trent. 

"Whether he could play the position was never in doubt, but you have to set up around him, because there are moments when we lose the ball and have a different formation.

"How do we get him on the ball? Obviously that's important. Maybe we'll do it like this tomorrow – we will see – but maybe Trent shows up there and gets a man-marker.

"It's not the solution to all the problems we had this year. He has the potential to play that position, that was always clear. We will see where it leads to."

Just as Premier League managers toy with their options for crucial run-in games, fantasy bosses are weighing up who should slot into their teams this weekend.

Some will be looking to consolidate lofty positions, but many will be eyeing a gamble in a late attempt to shuffle up the standings.

It comes down to analysing form, whether recent or over a longer course of time.

Using Opta data, Stats Perform selects four players you might consider for the latest set of matches.
 

Jose Sa (Leicester City v Wolves)

In a midlands battle between hosts in the relegation mire and visitors who are creeping clear of trouble, Wolves may need goalkeeper Jose Sa to be at his sharpest.

Only three teams have recorded more Premier League shutouts than Wolves in 2023 (5), while Sa is the eighth different goalkeeper to have recorded at least 20 clean sheets since the start of last season.

He is targeting a third successive clean sheet this weekend, and since the start of last season, only Alisson (14.2) and Bernd Leno (9.9) have prevented more goals than Sa (6.4), based on Opta's xG model.

Eberechi Eze (Crystal Palace v Everton)

We've seen an April shower of goals from Crystal Palace this month, and now lowly Everton are the visitors to Selhurst Park.

Since the start of April, only Manchester City (11) have scored more goals in the Premier League than Palace (9), with Eberechi Eze netting three of those.

With seven goals and three assists this season, he has already equalled his best tally for goal involvements in the Premier League season (also 10 in 2020-21), and under Roy Hodgson's leadership he is clearly thriving again.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool v Nottingham Forest)

Setting penalties to one side, Liverpool's Mohamed Salah has been showing some serious form of late, hitting a double last time out at Leeds United.

Only Ollie Watkins (14) and Erling Haaland (13) have been involved in more Premier League goals in 2023 than the Liverpool forward, with Salah totting up 11 involvements (8 goals, 3 assists), nine of which have come since the beginning of March.

In his last 10 Premier League games against teams that have come up from the Championship, as Forest did at the start of this campaign, Salah has been involved in nine goals (6 goals, 3 assists).

Dominic Solanke (Bournemouth v West Ham)

When Dominic Solanke gets hot, the opposition soon know about it.

He has become just the fifth different player for Bournemouth to record at least five goals and five assists in a Premier League season, achieving that by scoring once and providing two assists last time out against Tottenham.

The 25-year-old former Liverpool player had a stunning 2021-22 campaign in the Championship with the Cherries, and while he has not consistently hit the same heights in the top flight, the Tottenham game was the third of the Premier League season in which he has both scored and assisted. Nobody in the league has done so on more occasions, heading into this weekend's round of games.

Keylor Navas believes he could help Paris Saint-Germain win the Champions League next season and feels capable of playing for "any team."

The 36-year-old Costa Rica international swapped life in the French capital for a Premier League relegation battle by joining Nottingham Forest on loan for the rest of the season in January.

Navas would relish another opportunity with the Ligue 1 leaders after Gianluigi Donnarumma took over as PSG's first-choice keeper.

He told Canal+ "I have one year left on my contract in Paris. If I have to go back there and play, I feel capable of winning the Champions League with PSG.

"I didn't like the situation I was experiencing in Paris. I wanted to feel that the team loved me. I always felt in good condition to play.

"When I was at PSG nobody could say that I was causing problems, that I wasn't training or that I wasn't working well On the contrary, I wanted to train even more and show that I could play. But unfortunately I didn't have the chance."

Navas has no idea where he will be playing next season and is keeping his options open.

He added: "I feel capable of playing for any team. We'll see what happens in the future. I would like, when I finish my loan here, to see the club's intentions. Then we can make decisions."