Nottingham Forest face Arsenal with four-match home scoring drought to end

Four home matches without a goal and six without a win: Nottingham Forest bring both runs into Sunday's meeting with Arsenal, with just one point separating them from the relegation places. The visitors have won five of their opening six Premier League games, leaving Forest with a demanding test as they try to end that wait.

Forest must do so without Callum Hudson-Odoi and Igor Jesus, who are out with leg and calf injuries respectively. Morgan Gibbs-White is doubtful through injury and is not in the confirmed starting XI, having started each of Forest's last five matches.

James McAtee and Dan Ndoye line up behind Liam Delap in a 3-4-2-1. Gibbs-White's absence from that XI also leaves him one appearance short of 150 league outings for Forest.

At the back, Nicolo Savona and Willy Boly are out with knee injuries, while Nikola Milenkovic is questionable with a knee problem. Matz Sels starts in goal behind Jair, Ousmane Diomande and Murillo. Daniel Muñoz and Neco Williams take the wing-back positions, with Xaver Schlager and Nicolás Domínguez in central midfield.

Arsenal's confirmed team contains a notable discrepancy: Ben White starts despite also being listed as out with a knee injury. Jurriën Timber, Piero Hincapie and William Saliba are listed out with groin, ankle and back injuries respectively.

Martin Zubimendi is doubtful with an ankle injury and does not feature in the starting XI, while Christos Tzolis is out with a hamstring injury. Declan Rice and Bruno Guimarães form the midfield pair in Arsenal's 4-2-3-1.

David Raya starts in goal, with White, Ezri Konsa, Gabriel Magalhães and Riccardo Calafiori across the defence. Bukayo Saka, Martin Ødegaard and Eberechi Eze support Kai Havertz, who is one goal short of 25 league goals for Arsenal.

The table gives Forest little breathing room. They are 17th with five points from six matches, having won once, drawn twice and lost three times, with a goal difference of minus three.

Their last two league games brought a 1-0 home defeat by Coventry City and a 3-1 loss away to Crystal Palace. Before those defeats, Forest won 2-1 at Aston Villa after draws against Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool. The goalless home draw with Tottenham is part of the scoring drought they now need to break.

Arsenal have 15 points and a goal difference of plus five. Manchester City lead with 21 points from seven matches, so Arsenal begin this fixture six points back with a game in hand.

A 2-1 league win over Leeds United followed Arsenal's 3-0 defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion. They also come into this match after a 3-0 win against Lille. On their previous league visit to Forest last season, Arsenal were held to a 0-0 draw.

Alongside Havertz's goals landmark, Murillo starts one appearance short of 100 league games for Forest. His immediate task is in a defence facing an Arsenal side that has already recorded league wins over Aston Villa, Chelsea, Sunderland and Leeds this season.

Kickoff is at 16:30 BST on Sunday 18 October in Week 7 of the 2026/27 Premier League season. Forest have the opportunity to put more distance between themselves and the bottom three; Arsenal can reduce City's lead to three points with a win.

Questions

What are the relegation places?

They are the bottom three positions in the 20-team Premier League. Teams finishing there are relegated. Nottingham Forest enter this match 17th, one point above those places.

How far are Arsenal behind Manchester City?

Arsenal have 15 points from six matches, six behind Manchester City's 21 from seven. A win would reduce that gap to three points.

Which players are approaching milestones?

Murillo is one appearance short of 100 league appearances for Nottingham Forest, while Morgan Gibbs-White is one short of 150. Kai Havertz needs one goal to reach 25 league goals for Arsenal.