Liverpool v Nottingham Forest team news: Willy Boly injured for Nuno's side

Nottingham Forest are facing a significant, fresh injury concern following the recent international break.

Centre-back Willy Boly was sent back to England following a right calf strain suffered in training for the Ivory Coast. Before the West African nation’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Chad, manager Emerse Fae explained:

“Regarding the absence of Willy Boly, I will simply explain to you, he was unfortunately injured in training just before our match against Chad. Examinations revealed a calf injury, and he is therefore unavailable. He returned to the club to recover.”

Boly had appeared in three of Forest’s four games so far this season, playing all 90 minutes in two of them. With the expectation being that Nuno Espirito Santo would set up his team with three centre-backs, Boly’s omission couldn’t be timed much worse. 

Forest's Fine Form

The Midlanders have enjoyed the best start to a season since their return to the Premier League in 2022-23, picking up five points with a win over a recently-promoted Southampton, and draws with Bournemouth and Wolves. 

They face a significant period without starting midfielder Danilo, who suffered a severe ankle fracture on the opening day of the season against Bournemouth.

“The surgery went well. Now we have to be patient,” boss Espirito Santo previously said. “The important thing is that he takes his time; that he does not make any mistakes… We do not want to rush him, we do not want to put him under any pressure to come back. He has to settle down.”

The Brazilian was replaced by Ryan Yates immediately following his injury, but his midfield role has since been occupied by Elliot Anderson following his move from Newcastle United.

Nottingham Forest Predicted Line-up vs. Liverpool

Santo has been happy to change his approach depending on what has been deemed necessary so far this season. In his only game facing a 4-3-3, in the League Cup against Newcastle, the Portuguese boss set his side up in a 3-4-3 system. However, with the injury to Boly - the natural choice to fill in a back three - and Liverpool’s ongoing midfield injury issues, sticking with the 4-2-3-1 that performed well against Wolves last time out may be his best option.

The last meeting between the two sides came in March. Santo opted for a 4-2-3-1 then and was only stunted by a 90+9th minute winner by Darwin Nunez. 

Expected lineup:

(4-2-3-1)

: Sels - Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina - Sangare, Anderson - Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi - Wood