Nottingham Forest Aim for Historic Hat-Trick at Anfield

Nottingham Forest head to Anfield chasing a slice of history: a first-ever hat-trick of league wins at Liverpool’s home. Under the lights, with a new man in the home dugout and a visitor that suddenly fancies this ground, the story feels anything but routine.

Iraola’s Liverpool still wide open

Andoni Iraola’s Premier League debut with Liverpool ended in euphoria, not control. A last-gasp equaliser at St James’ Park salvaged a point, yet the 90 minutes laid bare how vulnerable his side remain without the ball.

Liverpool dominated the numbers. Sixty-one percent possession. Twenty-seven shots to Newcastle’s 13. On paper, that reads like a side in command.

On the pitch, it didn’t always look that way.

Newcastle repeatedly ripped through them on the break. Anthony Elanga’s opener arrived just 10 seconds after the hosts won the ball inside their own box. The second was even more brutal in its simplicity: Malick Thiaw stepped in to win possession, and 12 seconds later Joe Willock was rolling his finish past Alisson.

Two punches, both thrown in a heartbeat.

Those goals pushed Liverpool’s tally of strikes conceded from fast breaks in all competitions since the start of last season to nine – more than any other Premier League side. For a club that once smothered transitions under Jürgen Klopp, it’s a damning statistic.

Now Iraola walks out at Anfield for the first time in a competitive game with something precious to protect. Liverpool have not lost their opening home league fixture of a season since 2003. Seventeen wins, five draws, 22 games unbeaten. It is one of those quiet records that only surfaces when it’s under threat.

And Forest, of all teams, are the ones threatening it.

Forest’s Anfield habit

For decades, Anfield was a dead end for Nottingham Forest. From 1969 onwards, they came and went without a win in any competition.

That changed in September 2024 with a 1-0 victory that broke the spell. Then came last November’s emphatic 3-0 win, a result that did more than just shock the home crowd – it suggested Forest had found a formula that worked on this stage.

Since returning to the Premier League in 2022, Forest have beaten Liverpool three times in the league. No other side has managed more against the Reds in that period. It’s a small sample, but it’s not an accident. They have learned how to make Liverpool uncomfortable.

They arrive knowing Anfield no longer feels like a fortress to them. It feels like an opportunity.

Glasner’s reality check and the Delap gamble

Like Iraola, Oliver Glasner is still imprinting his ideas on a new dressing room. The early signs have been bruising.

Back-to-back defeats to Leeds United in the space of four days – without scoring – have stalled the optimism around Forest’s reset. Daniel Farke’s side knocked them out of the League Cup and beat them in the league, exposing how far Glasner’s team still has to travel.

The Austrian did not sugar-coat it after Tuesday’s cup loss.

He spoke of nine draining months of relegation battle, of losing what he called “maybe your top midfielder” in Elliot Anderson, and of the simple truth that he and his players have only been together for six weeks. No miracles. No shortcuts. Just work.

His starting XI on the opening weekend underlined that message. No new signings. No quick fix from the market.

That changes with Liam Delap.

Forest’s club-record £50m signing arrives with something to prove and not much time to waste. His spell at Stamford Bridge yielded just one league goal in 28 games, a frustrating chapter for a forward once tipped for far more. Now he steps into a side that badly needs a cutting edge and a fanbase eager for a focal point to believe in.

Delap’s presence alone should jolt the mood. A big fee, a fresh start, a stage like Anfield – it’s a platform few strikers turn down.

Goals on the road, questions at the back

For all their issues, Forest do not travel meekly. They have scored in each of their last 10 Premier League away games, the longest current run in the division. Fifteen goals in their last five on the road underline how dangerous they can be when the game opens up.

That attacking streak collides head-on with Liverpool’s weakness in transition. Forest like space, they like to break, and Liverpool keep leaving the door ajar.

Iraola wants to preserve a 21-year home-day record. Glasner wants to accelerate a rebuild that has barely left the blocks. Forest want their Anfield hat-trick.

Something has to give.