Nottingham Forest face a tough test on the opening day of the Premier League campaign as they travel to face Arsenal.
Steve Cooper’s men defeated Mike Arteta’s side 1-0 at the City Ground last season but fell to a heavy 5-0 defeat at the Emirates in October.
A trip to face the Gunners is tough enough, however, the Reds may face an even tougher challenge, as they might be without three key first-team members for the trip.
Felipe is carrying a knee problem and has already been ruled out by boss Cooper.
Moussa Niakhate and Taiwo Awoniyi both picked up injuries during pre-season and the game on Saturday lunchtime might come too soon for the pair.
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Predictions from the pundits
Mark Lawrenson, Chris Sutton and Paul Merson have given their predictions for the early kick-off between Arsenal and Forest.
The pundits are all in agreement that it’ll be difficult for the Reds to come away with anything from the Emirates, with the trio all predicting 3-0 home wins.
Former Arsenal man Merson spoke in detail about the sides and whilst predicting Cooper’s side to stay up this season, he thinks they’ll struggle at the Emirates.
“This could be a good game for Kai Havertz. Nottingham Forest defend very deep and Arsenal will need to get the ball into the box.
“I think Nottingham [Forest] will be all right this campaign, but it does depend on their owner. They were on the verge of sacking their manager several times last season.
“It depends on what the club’s expectations are this season. I think Forest are going to be better than at least a couple of other clubs in the league.
“This game is a nice start for Arsenal. Nottingham Forest’s away form last season was bordering on atrocious. I don’t see anything but a win for Arsenal this weekend.”