Nottinghamshire

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Liverpool at Anfield (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Winger Callum Hudson-Odoi is "making good progress" and is "in consideration" for the squad on Saturday. Meanwhile, forward Chris Wood is being rescanned but it is "good news so far", and Douglas Luiz is making progress so it will be "a matter of time but not instant".

• Dyche added that Wood's knee injury is "nothing too serious" and this is just a "settling period" for it.

• Dilane Bakwa, Ola Aina and Oleksandr Zinchenko are "making progress" but are still with the sports science and physios side of their recovery.

• The Forest boss said they will not know the impact of the win over Leeds United and subsequent international break "until the whistle blows", but "a break was needed" to give themselves more time with the players and for those injured to miss fewer games.

• He added: "We're building a feeling among the group that we think is positive. There were good signs after the Leeds game of that feeling, not just with a performance and result, but also the connection that you get after the game and that good feeling in the camp and around the club."

• On what midfielder Elliott Anderson's ceiling is: "He is a good player. He's got everything in front of him and I've spoke to him about what I call the nuts and bolts of his performances, but not at any length - less is more, I think, for him. He's naturally going about his business the right way, he's learning the game as he goes, so input is over coaching someone and you've got to be careful with that."

• Asked whether they can take confidence from winning at Anfield last season and good results he has had with previous sides, Dyche responded: "You want a team and yourself to be confident wherever you go. You can't guarantee these things but I think we've got a team that can compete. That's a big thing. We want to be competitive in every game. We're beginning to build that mentality."

• Dyche said the club "has shown they're willing to invest when they need to" as the winter transfer window approaches, adding: "But it's a constant thing, looking at players' availability, the shifting sands of football. Who is moving where? Who is doing what? That's football, not just Nottingham Forest. Sometimes you sit tight because that is what the market says you can't [do]."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Liverpool v Nottingham Forest at 15:00 on Saturday on BBC Sounds

Chris Collinson
BBC Sport statistician

One of the biggest stories of the Premier League season so far is the decline of goals scored in open play and how teams have been scoring more from set-pieces instead.

When we compare how goals have been scored to the first 11 games last season, there have been 39 fewer scored in open play and 26 more from team set-pieces and penalties, giving us 13 fewer overall.

If we look at the bigger picture and the number of shots teams are taking, there have been an incredible 370 fewer in open play than at this stage last time out.

So which teams are most responsible for this change in how goals are scored this season?

The above graph compares how teams have gone up or down in numbers of set-piece and goals from open play compared with the same stage last season.

In terms of goals scored from open play, Wolves have seen by far the biggest decline, scoring just four in 11 games and that is 10 fewer than at this stage last season.

Outside of Wolves, the Premier League's decline in open play goals is very much a London thing, with five of the capital's seven sides scoring at least five goals fewer from open play than last season.

In fairness, that is largely down to them scoring lots of goals at the start of last season rather than them really struggling to score in open play this campaign.

Meanwhile Manchester City have seen the biggest increase, with all but one of their 23 goals scored this season coming in open play.

When it comes to goals scored from set-pieces (excluding penalties), Arsenal and Chelsea have seen the biggest increase, with both sides replacing the five fewer goals that they have scored in open play with the same number from dead-ball situation.

Manchester United have scored twice as many goals from set-pieces as they did in the 11 games before Ruben Amorim took charge last season.

On the flipside, Manchester City do not seem to have got the memo about scoring more from set-pieces because they've scored three fewer than last season, as have Nottingham Forest, although that might be down to the change in style they have tried to implement.

Read more about this season's scoring trends here

Emlyn Begley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

The Africa Cup of Nations kicks off earlier than usual this year, with up to 17 Premier League clubs set to be affected by players jetting off to host country Morocco.

The tournament runs from 21 December until 18 January.

There has been no official announcement about which date clubs will have to release their players by - and it could vary depending on agreements.

Players could miss up to six, or in some cases seven, Premier League matches - plus FA Cup and Carabao Cup games - if they reach the final.

The group stages end on 31 December, so quickly eliminated players may only miss half that amount.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Leeds do not have any players due to play in the 2025 Afcon - with Sunderland and Wolves losing the most players.

• Aston Villa - 1

• Bournemouth - 1

• Brentford - 2

• Brighton - 1

• Burnley - 3

• Crystal Palace - 1 to 4

• Everton - 2 to 3

• Fulham - 3

• Liverpool - 1

• Manchester City - 2

• Manchester United - 3

• Newcastle United - 0 to 1

• Nottingham Forest - 1 to 4

• Sunderland - 7

• Tottenham - 1 to 2

• West Ham United - 2

• Wolves - 5

Read the full article here to know which players will feature at Afcon

Colin Fray
BBC Radio Nottingham reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nobody expected the start to the season Nottingham Forest have gone through.

Three managers before the November international break is clearly not where the club wanted or expected to be.

Yet over the past few weeks, the appointment of Sean Dyche and backroom staff steeped in Forest history has steadied things.

It has brought a return to the traits and feelings that served the club well over the previous four years or so: togetherness, determination and belief.

On the pitch, there has been a return to other familiar things.

Firstly, clean sheets: two in the Europa League, though a Premier League blank remains elusive. Secondly, and most importantly, wins: a crucial one in Europe and one against Leeds for their first in the Premier League since the opening day.

Goals are starting to become more abundant and smiles are back on faces around the City Ground too, despite still being in a very perilous position and having a seven-man injury list for Leeds' visit.

The Reds' current absentees include striker Chris Wood, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, right-back Ola Aina and midfielder Douglas Luiz.

But there is a belief that things are looking up under Dyche and there is also hope the international break will have helped some of those injured players recover.

There is also confidence that performances and therefore league position - both domestic and in Europe - will improve.

Listen to full commentary on every Nottingham Forest game, and In The Game every weeknight from 18:00, on BBC Radio Nottingham.

And subscribe to the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast on BBC Sounds.

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Which player is flying?: Elliot Anderson is the player who's really excelling at the moment. It does not need much explanation — his statistics are the best in the Premier League, he's slotted into the England side without any trouble whatsoever and almost every single game for Forest shows off something we have not seen from him yet.

Which player is floundering?: There are several new signings that have not quite found their way yet, although I suspect James McAtee is the one who has really struggled to make an impact. As ever, patience is required and we might not see the best of the likes of McAtee, Arnaud Kalimuendo and Dilane Bakwa until next season. The talent is evidently there - sometimes it just takes time.

Tactically I think... we are still playing catch-up. The plan after last season was to play with greater possession and be less dependent on counter-attacking. The swing to Ange Postecoglou was very clearly too far but Sean Dyche still has some tinkering to be done after he has dealt with the basics.

I want my manager to give me more... goals. It's early days to be demanding too much of Dyche as he's got a lot on his plate, although after he's got us organised at set pieces we really need to start scoring more. Three against Leeds United changed the mood so hopefully we will be less dependent on Chris Wood this season.

Our fans seem obsessed with... Crystal Palace. You could probably argue it the other way though as the anger is mostly from south London, but our fans have had a very strange relationship with Crystal Palace since they did their own damage to themselves and we simply asked Uefa a question.

But they should be thinking about... the Europa League. That is what the antagonism was over and it is really where we need to be concentrating - after the league, of course. The squad is big enough to cope with the demands. It is just about getting everyone up to speed so we are not so dependent on our first XI for the Thursday-Sunday-Thursday-Sunday games.

My expectations for the season were... equalling or bettering last season. Finishing in the top six was always going to be tough but aside from losing Anthony Elanga, we strengthened the squad. Now, however, we will be delighted with a top-10 finish - and even that is still a long way off.

Score for the season so far: Three. It can improve dramatically but it has been a tough few months.

One sentence on how you're feeling right now: Vaguely optimistic that we can turn things around. We might still be in the bottom three but a few wins and other results going our way will dramatically affect the table.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external