ShareLiverpool welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield on Saturday afternoon as both teams search for their first three points of the campaign.By Sam McGuireThe story of the seasonThe Reds kicked off the Andoni Iraola era with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle United. Liverpool twice came from behind to pick up a point with Dominik Szoboszlai saving the day with a 99th minute penalty last Sunday.Iraola’s midfield appeared to have gaping holes in it and the hosts exploited it with two breathtaking counter-attackers. Despite calls for middle third reinforcements, Liverpool appear to be focusing on their forward line. At the time of writing this preview, a deal for Bradley Barcola is close while bids have been rejected for Yankuba Minteh and Ismaïla Sarr. Reports seem to suggest at least one more attacker could be signed before deadline day while Cody Gakpo could depart in a big-money move to Spurs.If this is to be his last appearance for the Reds, he’ll want to go out with a bang. He scored the first goal of the season for Liverpool last weekend and he’s looked bright in pre-season. Expect another decent showing in what is a potential sign-off for the Dutchman.Nottingham Forest suffered back-to-back losses to Leeds United, first in the Premier League and then in the Carabao Cup. New manager Oliver Glasner has a good record against Liverpool and he’ll want to extend that on Saturday. He’ll also no doubt be a little wary of how quickly things can sour as Forest manager. Another defeat and things could spiral.This week, Forest agreed to a club record deal to sign Liam Delap from Chelsea. If he’s registered in time, expect him to be involved on Saturday and he has the potential to cause the hosts some problems with his physicality.We may only be into the second matchday of the season but both new managers will be desperate to get a win under their belts.Key PlayersThere’s been a lot of focus on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak this week after both disappointed for Liverpool in the draw with Newcastle. Both were expected to step up following the departure of Mohamed Salah and both will want to cement their claim for the team’s MVP before Barcola arrives. If the Reds are to have any success against a resilient Forest team, those two will be key.Gibbs-White heat map vs. Leeds last weekendFor the away side, the key man might be Morgan Gibbs-White. At St James’ Park last weekend, the Reds left a lot of space in midfield and Virgil van Dijk and Jérémy Jacquet had to put out fires. Gibbs-White positions himself in pockets, is a good ball carrier and has an eye for goal. He’s going to be the main threat for the visitors and Liverpool will want to keep an eye on him.Team NewsLiverpool are without a number of players. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni are long-term absentees. Joe Gomez suffered a setback in pre-season and will be absent while Alexis Mac Allister, who was given an extended break after the World Cup, is still getting up to speed so is unlikely to start. Iraola doesn’t have many options right now.Forest, meanwhile, have a full squad to pick from with the exceptions of Nicolò Savona. The away team have also added to their ranks this week with the arrival of Delap meaning they head to Anfield with quality and depth in attack.PredictionWe’re going with a narrow 2-1 win for Liverpool.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.Liverpool welcome Nottingham Forest to Anfield on Saturday afternoon as both teams search for their first three points of the campaign.By Sam McGuireThe story of the seasonThe Reds kicked off the Andoni Iraola era with a 2-2 draw at Newcastle United. Liverpool twice came from behind to pick up a point with Dominik Szoboszlai saving the day with a 99th minute penalty last Sunday.Iraola’s midfield appeared to have gaping holes in it and the hosts exploited it with two breathtaking counter-attackers. Despite calls for middle third reinforcements, Liverpool appear to be focusing on their forward line. At the time of writing this preview, a deal for Bradley Barcola is close while bids have been rejected for Yankuba Minteh and Ismaïla Sarr. Reports seem to suggest at least one more attacker could be signed before deadline day while Cody Gakpo could depart in a big-money move to Spurs.If this is to be his last appearance for the Reds, he’ll want to go out with a bang. He scored the first goal of the season for Liverpool last weekend and he’s looked bright in pre-season. Expect another decent showing in what is a potential sign-off for the Dutchman.Nottingham Forest suffered back-to-back losses to Leeds United, first in the Premier League and then in the Carabao Cup. New manager Oliver Glasner has a good record against Liverpool and he’ll want to extend that on Saturday. He’ll also no doubt be a little wary of how quickly things can sour as Forest manager. Another defeat and things could spiral.This week, Forest agreed to a club record deal to sign Liam Delap from Chelsea. If he’s registered in time, expect him to be involved on Saturday and he has the potential to cause the hosts some problems with his physicality.We may only be into the second matchday of the season but both new managers will be desperate to get a win under their belts.Key PlayersThere’s been a lot of focus on Florian Wirtz and Alexander Isak this week after both disappointed for Liverpool in the draw with Newcastle. Both were expected to step up following the departure of Mohamed Salah and both will want to cement their claim for the team’s MVP before Barcola arrives. If the Reds are to have any success against a resilient Forest team, those two will be key.Gibbs-White heat map vs. Leeds last weekendFor the away side, the key man might be Morgan Gibbs-White. At St James’ Park last weekend, the Reds left a lot of space in midfield and Virgil van Dijk and Jérémy Jacquet had to put out fires. Gibbs-White positions himself in pockets, is a good ball carrier and has an eye for goal. He’s going to be the main threat for the visitors and Liverpool will want to keep an eye on him.Team NewsLiverpool are without a number of players. Conor Bradley, Hugo Ekitike and Giovanni Leoni are long-term absentees. Joe Gomez suffered a setback in pre-season and will be absent while Alexis Mac Allister, who was given an extended break after the World Cup, is still getting up to speed so is unlikely to start. Iraola doesn’t have many options right now.Forest, meanwhile, have a full squad to pick from with the exceptions of Nicolò Savona. The away team have also added to their ranks this week with the arrival of Delap meaning they head to Anfield with quality and depth in attack.PredictionWe’re going with a narrow 2-1 win for Liverpool.(Cover image from IMAGO)You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season — featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.Add FotMob as a preferred news source on Google by clicking – here.