Newcastle United are offered a chance for revenge on Saturday.
Indeed, back on Boxing Day, Nottingham Forest inflicted arguably the worst result of the Eddie Howe era on Newcastle.
They romped to a 3-1 victory at St James’ Park despite the fact the hosts had taken the lead.
The sheer ease in which Forest overran the Newcastle midfield was noted by pundit Tim Sherwood, contributing to a pretty miserable December for Howe.
Now, he will take his team down to the City Ground for the late kick-off in the Premier League on Saturday.
While Newcastle’s very poor away form this season makes it a daunting prospect, Forest have been dealt a blow.
Former Toon striker Chris Wood scored a hat-trick during the reverse fixture but will play no part on Saturday as a result of a hamstring injury.
Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle: Eddie Howe team news latest
Asked about Wood’s absence, Howe said (via The Chronicle): “Chris did very, very well on the day. He was a brilliant signing for us and helped keep us in the division.
“We’ll be pleased he’ll be missing.”
Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle: Prediction
It’s a huge game for Newcastle.
While they did manage to address their miserable run of away form against Aston Villa, they followed that up by dropping more points at home in a chaotic draw with Luton.
Failure to beat Forest, who have won only one of their last six games at the City Ground, would be another major blow.
Still, with Newcastle potentially being without Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon for the game, it’s hard to confidently say Howe’s team will pick up three points.
The defence has certainly proven more fallible of late and being without two such key attackers is less than ideal.
For that reason, a draw seems a relatively safe prediction.
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