After a well-fought but seemingly lost battle for the Premier League title, Arsenal will battle Nottingham Forest at City Ground in Premier League matchday 37.
Both sides will meet on the back of contrasting results last weekend. Arsenal suffered a heavy defeat to Brighton while Nottingham Forest settled for a dramatic 2-2 draw against Chelsea.
Match Preview
There is a lot to play for going into the game. While Arsenal may be ruled out of the title race, there is still a glimmer of hope for the Gunners should Manchester City fail to win against Chelsea.
Arsenal will need a win against Nottingham Forest to capitalize on any slip by Manchester City in their remaining fixtures.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are battling to survive relegation and retain a spot in the English topflight next season.
With West Ham steering themselves to relative safety, the relegation battle in the Premier League has now narrowed down to four teams – Nottingham Forest, Leeds United, Everton, and Leicester City.
The Tricky Trees will need a win against Arsenal and hope Leeds United, Leicester City, and Everton stumble.
They are leading the survival race with 34 points but a defeat to Arsenal at City Ground could doom their chances.
After salvaging a valuable one point at Stamford Bridge, Steve Cooper will hope to surmount the Arsenal challenge at home.
They have not failed to score in their last five games with only two defeats at City Ground since 2023.
The reverse fixture between the two sides in October last year ended in a 5-0 win for the Gunners.
Team News
Nottingham Forest have a scary list of injured players that are going to miss the clash against Arsenal. Leading the list is Manchester United loanee to the club Dean Henderson who is ruled out of the clash due to a thigh injury.
Neco Williams and Chris Wood are also set to miss the game, including Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Colback, Scott McKenna, Emmanuel Dennis and Gustavo Scarpa.
Navas will be expected to start on goal for the Tricky Trees with Felipe and Aurier at the defense.
Gibbs-White and Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi will lead the attack.
Mikel Arteta denied William Saliba and Oleksandr Zinchenko are ruled out for the rest of the season but the two players missed the game against Brighton and will also likely miss this penultimate game against Nottingham Forest.
Also on Arsenal injury list is Mohammed Elneny and Takehiro Tomiyasu who will also miss the game.
Ramsdale is expected to start on goal for the Gunners with Magalhaes and Kiwior leading the defense. At the middle of the park, Thomas Partey may start ahead of Jorginho with Xhaka and Oddegard also expected to start.
Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus, and Leandro Trossard may likely start on the attack.
Nottingham Forest Probable Starting XI:
Navas; Worrall, Niakhate, Felipe; Aurier, Yates, Danilo, Mangala, Lodi; Gibbs-White, Awoniyi
Arsenal Probable starting XI:
Ramsdale; White, Kiwior, Gabriel, Tierney; Odegaard, Xhaka, Partey; Saka, Jesus, Trossard
Prediction
Nottingham Forest are expected to fight tooth and nail to salvage at least a point to boost their Premier League survival hopes but it will be difficult battling desperate Gunners who will be looking to return to winning ways after the shock home defeat to Brighton.
Both sides will find the back of the net but Arsenal will win 3-1 after the final whistle.
