Nottingham Forest Eye Historic Win at Anfield Against Liverpool

Nottingham Forest head to Anfield chasing a slice of history: a third straight league win at Liverpool’s home for the first time. For a club that went more than half a century without a victory there, it’s an extraordinary twist.

The backdrop is just as intriguing. Andoni Iraola’s Premier League debut as Liverpool manager produced late drama and a point at St James’ Park, but also a harsh spotlight on his team’s soft underbelly.

Liverpool’s high-wire act

On paper, Liverpool dominated Newcastle. Sixty-one percent possession. Twenty-seven shots to 13. Waves of pressure.

Yet every time they lost the ball, they looked exposed.

Anthony Elanga’s opener for Newcastle told the story. From a regain in their own box to the ball in Alisson’s net in 10 seconds. The second was just as brutal: Malick Thiaw won possession, Joe Willock finished 12 seconds later. Two punches, both landed while Liverpool were still squaring up.

Those goals pushed Liverpool to an unwanted milestone: nine goals conceded from fast breaks in all competitions since the start of last season, more than any other Premier League side. Under Iraola, the high-tempo, front-foot approach is non-negotiable. The question is whether his back line can live with the space that leaves behind them.

Now comes his first competitive match at Anfield, and with it a record to protect. Liverpool have not lost their opening home league game of a season since 2003. Seventeen wins, five draws, 22 games of setting the tone in front of the Kop.

That aura will be tested by the one side that has turned Anfield into a surprisingly happy hunting ground.

Forest’s Anfield habit

For decades, Nottingham Forest simply did not win at Anfield. Not in the league, not in the cups. Nothing since 1969.

Then came September 2024: a 1-0 win that snapped the hoodoo. Two months later, they went back and tore Liverpool apart 3-0. From famine to feast in the space of a few weeks.

Since Forest returned to the Premier League in 2022, no team has beaten Liverpool in the league more often. Forest have three wins in that period, more than any other side. For Iraola, that’s not just a quirky stat. It’s a warning.

Glasner’s reality check

Forest arrive with their own new man in the dugout. Oliver Glasner is still trying to reshape a squad conditioned by nine months of relegation battle.

Leeds United have already given him a sharp reminder of the work ahead. Daniel Farke’s side beat Forest twice in four days, knocking them out of the League Cup and leaving them goalless across both games.

Glasner did not sugar-coat it after Tuesday’s defeat.

"The reality is, and I think everybody has to understand and accept, nine months of relegation battle, losing maybe your top midfielder (Elliot Anderson), and now we're six weeks together," he said. "The reality is no magician, no Messiah, it's just hard work. This is what we have to do."

His team selection underlined the point. Forest, notorious for busy windows in recent seasons, named no new signings in the starting XI for their league opener. Evolution, not revolution.

But there is one new face who changes the mood.

Delap’s fresh start

Liam Delap arrives as a club-record £50m signing and a lightning rod for expectation. The striker badly needs a reset after a bruising spell at Stamford Bridge, where he scored just once in 28 league games.

Forest hope Anfield can be the stage where his revival begins. The platform is there: Glasner’s side have found a scoring rhythm away from home that defies their struggles elsewhere.

Forest have scored in each of their last 10 Premier League away matches, the longest current run in the division. Fifteen goals in their last five on the road underline that this is not a fluke. They travel, they attack, they score.

So the scene is set. Liverpool, still thrilling but vulnerable in transition, defending a two-decade home record. Forest, emboldened by recent memories on Merseyside and armed with a new £50m focal point.

Anfield has seen plenty of opening-day statements. Which one lands this time?