Two fierce East Midlands rivals usher in Gameweek 9 of this season’s Premier League when Leicester City entertain Nottingham Forest on Friday night.
Foxes boss Steve Cooper has presided over two wins in a row to ease his new side’s fears of relegation but is now tasked with beating the team he took up to England’s top flight back in 2022 before he was sacked a little over a year later.
Forest are without manager Nuno Espirito Santo on the touchline due to suspension but didn’t let that absence distract them on Monday evening as they beat Crystal Palace 1-0. They have lost just once in eight league games so far in 2024/25.
Here’s 90min’s preview of the latest instalment of his local rivalry.
Leicester vs Nottingham Forest H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Leicester |
Nottingham Forest |
|---|---|
|
Southampton 2-3 Leicester – 19/10/24 |
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Crystal Palace – 21/01/24 |
|
Leicester 1-0 Bournemouth – 05/10/24 |
Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest – 06/10/24 |
|
Arsenal 4-2 Leicester – 28/09/24 |
Nottingham Forest 0-1 Fulham – 28/09/24 |
|
Walsall 0-0 (0-3p) Leicester – 24/09/24 |
Brighton 2-2 Nottingham Forest – 22/09/24 |
|
Leicester 1-1 Everton – 21/09/24 |
Liverpool 0-1 Nottingham Forest – 14/09/24 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO, SiriusXM FC |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Leicester have suffered a couple of fitness setbacks ahead of Friday night’s showdown with their local rivals.
Jannik Vestergaard has completed 90 minutes in Denmark’s last four matches but hasn’t played for the Foxes since August and is expected to be out for another week or so. Jakub Stolarczyk, Patson Daka and Hamza Choudhury remain unavailable.
Harry Winks, Abdul Fatawu and Jordan Ayew all made key contributions off the bench in the 3-2 win at Southampton and could be rewarded with starts.
Leicester predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Hermansen; Justin, Faes, Okoli, Kristiansen; Winks, Ndidi; Buonanotte, Ayew, Fatawu; Vardy.
It’s a quick turnaround for Forest, having only played on Monday night when they earned a win over Palace thanks to Chris Wood’s second-half strike.
Morgan Gibbs-White is still being assessed from day to day but may not be risked, meaning he could sit the derby out alongside longer-term absentees Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare. If the England international doesn’t play, Elliot Anderson will likely continue in the number 10 role flanked by wingers Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs Leicester (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Ward-Prowse; Elanga, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Rivalries often deliver show-stopping entertainment in the Premier League and there could be fireworks aplenty when Leicester and Forest collide on Friday night.
The Foxes’ season has been ignited by two league wins on the bounce and manager Cooper will be desperate not to be on the receiving end of a defeat to his former employers.
However, Forest have already proven more than tough opposition away from home for the likes of Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion and Chelsea and won’t roll over for their local foes. There will be plenty of entertainment but the spoils may be shared come full-time.
Prediction: Leicester 1-1 Nottingham Forest
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