Nottingham Forest

Image source, Reuters

Emily Salley, BBC Sport

Nottingham Forest’s search for a first Premier League win of 2024 continues and a quick look at the table shows how important it is they get one soon.

After taking the lead for a third time, Newcastle made sure they managed the game well and Forest lacked a cutting edge to break through once more.

The Reds have been forced into two FA Cup replay matches in the last few weeks and perhaps those additional minutes, particularly Wednesday’s win over Bristol City that needed a penalty shootout, have taken their toll on an already depleted squad.

Nuno Espirito Santo will be desperate for the rest of his players competing in the Africa Cup of Nations to return, with the Ivory Coast’s Serge Aurier, Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangare, along with Nigeria’s Ola Aina all due back after Sunday’s final.

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo speaking to Sky Sports after the defeat: "A good performance. We did a lot of things good, some things bad that really cost us. We didn't defend the corner for the third goal well, but overall we played good. The boys fight and we had chances to make a difference."

On conceding from another set piece: "We require focus, concentration, being aggressive, attacking the ball, solving the problem and not being too passive. We are not there."

On the penalty decisions: "It's hard. I'm very polite in these situations. I don't like to interfere too much but, when VAR have time to see and check it over and over again, they don't see what I see. It happens, let's move on.

"More important for me is to try and look at how we play. We did well, created a lot of situations, controlling the game in the second half, playing good. We have to be focused and look at the details.

"The final decision was good. We had 1v1s with the goalkeeper. We are finding the right space but we need to improve on the finishing.

"We've been working very hard, the boys are committed. It's about trying to convert results from spells of good football, and we have to improve defensively."

Here are the key facts and figures following Saturday's game between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

• Newcastle have won consecutive away league games against Nottingham Forest for the first time since January 1966.

• The Magpies took the lead three times in a Premier League game that they went on to win for the first time since October 2005 under Graeme Souness (3-2 against Sunderland ). It’s the first time they have ever done so in an away game in the competition.

• Nottingham Forest have lost six of their last seven Premier League home games (W1), while they have lost their opening two home league games of a calendar year for the first time since 2018 (first three games).

• Fabian Schar has scored three goals in his last two Premier League away games, as many as he scored in his previous 68 away appearances in the competition (3 goals).

• Nottingham Forest have conceded 18 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, the most of any side. Only Burnley (9) have conceded more goals from corners than Forest (8) in the competition this term.

• No player has assisted more goals in the Premier League this season than Kieran Tripper (10). He also became the first Newcastle player to register 10 or more assists in a single Premier League season since Laurent Robert in 2001-02 (11).

Image source, Getty Images

Former Tottenham defender Stephen Kelly speaking about the result on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: "A huge win for Newcastle.

"Nottingham Forest will be devastated not to come away with something, especially having had a penalty claim turned down. But, in the second half, they didn't do enough.

"They couldn't get in behind Newcastle often enough to get that third goal. A fantastic goal from [Bruno] Guimaraes to win it for Newcastle.

"The changes that Eddie Howe made after that helped the team to manage the game, close the space for Forest and secure a vital away win."

Bruno Guimaraes' sublime second-half strike helped Newcastle United to a 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest in a lively Premier League encounter.

Forest twice fought back from behind with Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi cancelling out goals from Guimaraes and Fabian Schar.

But Guimaraes secured the three points for the visitors with a brilliant finish in the 66th minute.

Defeat for Forest leaves them just two points clear of the relegation zone.

After a dramatic 4-4 draw against Luton Town the previous weekend, Eddie Howe's side played out another thrilling game at the City Ground - this time coming out on top to move up to seventh in the Premier League standings.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from home?

Forest fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Newcastle fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

There are seven games being played in the Premier League on Saturday and we will bring you every moment.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

All times are GMT

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Liverpool v Burnley

• Nottingham Forest v Newcastle

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on Sexy Beast star Stephen Moyer, who is a West Ham fan.

Sutton's prediction: 2-2

I really don't know how to judge Newcastle at the moment, good or bad. They got such an impressive result away from home against Aston Villa but ended up having to fight back for a point at home to Luton a few days later.

Eddie Howe's side are conceding a lot of goals, including when Chris Wood scored a hat-trick for Nottingham Forest against them at St. James' Park a few weeks ago, and they're another team where I just don't know what we're going to get.

Forest needed penalties to get past Bristol City in the FA Cup this week and they are still waiting for their first win of 2024. The obvious result here is a draw, so I'm going to go with that.

Stephen's prediction: 0-2

Newcastle are going through a very weird run of results where it seems like anything could happen, but they should have too much for Forest.

I was expecting big things from Forest defender Neco Williams this season, but he's only recently got back into their team.

Read all of Sutton's predictions for this weekend's games

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League match at home to Newcastle United.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Nuno confirmed Gonzalo Montiel will miss the game, adding: "There are some players still with issues. We will have to asses them". He said that Chris Wood is "getting better, doing treatment every day - but not available for tomorrow".

• On needing penalties to get past Bristol City in the FA Cup on Wednesday: "It was a tough game, a lot of minutes - especially for players who have not been involved recently. Some knocks, some situations that always cause problems."

• On the win at St James' Park in December: "We defended well and took advantage of the spaces. Tomorrow is going to be different for sure. It will be a tough game, Newcastle are a good team. We need to be switched on so we can do it again."

• More on the challenge the Magpies pose: "The game has many aspects. We must realise we will face a very good team, good players, good manager. Then we will play the game. There are a lot of aspects we can take advantage of. We can't ignore we are playing a team with talent, physicality and intensity. You can never reduce the plan to individual players. It's about the team, about how we can produce the game we want."

• Nuno said he must "deal with the situation" of having injuries and players still to return from Africa Cup of Nations duty, adding: "We cannot wait for them to come, we never wait. Of course, it will be better when we have all the squad available. Having them around is important - but having them healthy, prepared and ready to is what we are more concerned about."

• On Taiwo Awoniyi: "He's improving. He's been out for a long time, he played sooner than we expected him to play. He did well. As long as he has energy, he can really help and we have to manage the momentum to use him. Totally different players - Taiwo and Chris - so the team needs to adapt to a new striker. Having both available will be great."

• Nuno said his team must "play the game" while "ignoring all the noise and focusing on our task".

Follow the rest of Friday's Premier League news conferences

Here are the key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

• Nottingham Forest have lost five of their past six Premier League home games, as many as they had in their previous 24 matches at the City Ground since returning to the competition in 2022. Indeed, the Reds could lose both of their opening two home league matches of a calendar year for the first time since 2018.

• Newcastle are unbeaten in their past seven top-flight away games against Nottingham Forest, with their past such defeat at the City Ground coming in May 1987. However, they have lost two Championship games there in that time.

• Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood has scored nine Premier League goals against sides he hass previously played for, including a hat-trick against Newcastle in this season’s reverse fixture. He could be the fifth player to score 10 such goals, after Nicolas Anelka (18), Andrew Cole, Peter Crouch and Louis Saha (all 12).

• Newcastle’s Premier League games have seen more goals scored (85) than any other side this season (F48 A37). Indeed, their 37 goals conceded is already four more than they shipped in the whole of 2022-23 (33)

• Kieran Trippier has provided nine assists in the Premier League this season, with only Ollie Watkins (10) providing more. The last Newcastle player to record double figures in a single top-flight campaign was Laurent Robert in 2001-02 (11).

Listen to commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live from 17:30 GMT on Saturday

Image source, Getty Images

On the latest episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast, Colin Fray spoke about Joe Worrall's legacy following his departure on loan to Besiktas: "I think we'll remember him as somebody who always wore his heart on his sleeve, was very forthright, whenever he would speak in interviews right from when he made his debut.

"I suppose that told you a lot about where he was going to go in his career and once he proved himself that he was going to be capable of playing at the level Forest were playing at, he was always going to be captain's armband material.

"As far as his legacy is concerned, I don't think anybody who was there or was connected with Forest at the time will forget him lifting that trophy with Lewis Grabban at Wembley and then doing it again on the Council House balcony the next day with the ticker tape flying, that's becoming a iconic image.

"He, like everybody else who was part of that squad, will always be remembered. Worrall is on loan at the moment, like so many Forest players, whenever he's going to be at the City Ground, this goes for all Forest players, they will be welcomed back whoever they may be playing for at the time."

Listen to Shut Up and Show More Football

BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Frank asked: Teams like Wolves who play without a number nine are doing very well. Are old fashioned strikers needed anymore? Has the game changed?

Michael replied: The game has changed. I think we've seen a different type of striker.

But look at Liverpool and Arsenal for example, people mention they still need a number nine, so people are saying it, but we're not necessarily seeing those old-fashioned nines.

Manchester City did so well with the false nine, but then Erling Haaland came in and scored 50 goals. They still needed him and they still wanted a number nine, but it depends on your playing style.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

How many players have left Nottingham Forest over the last two transfer windows?

The voice of Forest - BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray - has done some calculations on the latest episode of Shut Up And Show More Football.

Get the episode here

BBC Sport pundit Michael Brown has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.

Russell asked: The January transfer window was very quiet compared to recent years, probably due to Financial Fair Play and points deduction worries. Do you think the days of teams spending hundreds of millions each window are over? And if so, what long-term effects might that have on the Premier League?

Michael replied: I think we are going to see different spreads of spending. We're not going to see hundreds of millions in the January window because people will be more conscious of spreading those payments and their budget will already be in place.

They will probably do a lot more of it before the season, so I think we are going to see less of the the excitement of the January window because of quite obvious reasons.

The business will be done in the summer and clubs will say ‘this is what we've got'. They might have to send others on the way out first, rather than just spending that money and getting rid of players later.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

We asked for your thoughts on Nottingham Forest's penalty shootout victory over Bristol City in Wednesday's FA Cup replay win.

Here are some of your comments:

Mez: Cup games are all about who goes through. We went through.

Nigel: Sadly the game shows we are on a par with Championship teams. Why can’t we sign quality players on long-term contracts instead of short-term fixes? Like Ross Barkley at Luton. We need a settled starting XI and a plan to have any chance of surviving. Another uncomfortable season.

David: Watching from the Trent End, it was obvious that the eight changes and the loss of Nicolas Dominguez and Ryan Yates disrupted our rhythm. Bristol City put up a good fight - something for their fans to remember on their long late night journey home. How Felipe managed to keep going for 120 minutes shows the fight in the team. Well done.

Graham: Yet again we played six at the back, two in midfield and could not work out why they dominated the middle and could run into our box at will. At least when we go down, all the fans will leave and I will be able to afford a ticket again. Overrated, overpaid, underachievers.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown believes the FA Cup fourth-round replay win over Bristol City can be key in Nottingham Forest "gaining confidence" in their attempts to stay in the Premier League.

Forest needed penalties to eventually overcome their Championship opponents and set up a fifth-round tie at home to Manchester United.

"Home form for Forest has not been great so they'll be delighted to get through that," Brown told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily podcast. "They are missing a lot of players [so] they will certainly be better and it will be a different scenario when they get them back.

"Notably, the cup is about gaining confidence. We know where their priorities are - they have to stay away from the bottom of the Premier League. It's getting tighter and tighter.

"But, [when there is] a full house here at the City Ground, it's magic, it's brilliant. The FA Cup is a special tournament and these are the moments that give everyone an opportunity for dreaming.

"Forest at times were a little bit lethargic, a little bit slow but full credit [to them]. It was an exciting night and a great cup tie. To win like that is cruel but really exciting."

Listen to full reaction on BBC Sounds

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo after his side beat Championship outfit Bristol City on penalties to reach the FA Cup fifth round: "We are so happy. It was tough, but it was worth it. We had players struggling and then [it went to] extra time. Let's assess them now and see how they are.

"With players that have been out for so long it is tough, but it was the best possible way to manage the situation we are in now [with] trying to protect players that are returning. We have to measure the minutes they are on the pitch.

"The response was good. It was tough, but the attitude and the character to never give up makes me very, very happy. This is the FA Cup, it is so special and that is why we are so happy and proud to keep continuing and fighting for something that is so huge for us, to fight for a trophy. With the history of the club, we have to keep on fighting and try to deliver."

On a home game against Manchester United in the fifth round: "It is going to be fantastic and huge for us but before that we have a lot of things to prepare. We have a tough one on Saturday [against Newcastle]."

Did you know?

• Nottingham Forest have reached the FA Cup fifth round for just the second time in the past 10 seasons, also doing so in 2021-22. The Reds have now progressed from 11 of their last 12 shootouts in all competitions.

• Divock Origi scored his third goal in the FA Cup on his 12th appearance in the competition, while it was his first FA Cup strike since his consolation goal in a 2-1 loss with Liverpool at Wolves in the third round of the 2018-19 edition.

Image source, Getty Images

Steve Sutcliffe, BBC Sport

While Nottingham Forest were far from at their best against Bristol City, Nuno Espirito Santo will be delighted that his team can now look forward to hosting a mouth-watering fifth-round tie against Manchester United at the City Ground on 28 February.

In a much-changed side there were positives in the form of Divock Origi scoring his first goal first goal for Forest since his summer move from AC Milan and also in the performance of United States goalkeeper Matt Turner.

Turner, who has vowed to reclaim his place from new signing Matz Sels, has received criticism for several high-profile mistakes this term but made a string of good saves and crucially saved Sam Bell's spot-kick in the penalty shootout.

However, while the East Midlands side beat United over the festive period in the Premier League, they have laboured past League One Blackpool and now the second-tier Robins in the FA Cup and will almost certainly need to improve if they are to progress any further.

Nottingham Forest edged past Championship Bristol City in a penalty shootout to set up an FA Cup fifth-round tie against Manchester United.

Taiwo Awoniyi scored the winning spot-kick for the hosts, with Sam Bell having seen home goalkeeper Matt Turner save his effort.

Divock Origi's close-range effort had put Forest in front only for Jason Knight to level five minutes later.

And the sides could then not be separated until the dramatic finale.

It was far from a dull stalemate, with both teams spurning a succession of good opportunities to win the encounter before and during extra time.

Were you at the City Ground or following the match from elsewhere?

Have your say on the game here

Follow all the reaction