After scraping past a spirited Wolverhampton Wanderers outfit with a slender 1-0 victory on the opening weekend of the new season, Man United’s luck ran out last Sunday when they were put to the sword 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
In a frenetic contest filled with chances at both ends, with the woodwork struck three times in a first half that was largely dominated by Man United, Spurs were by far the better side after the interval, with Pape Matar Sarr breaking the deadlock on the 49-minute mark before a Lisandro Martinez own goal seven minutes from time condemned the Red Devils to their first defeat at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Man United notably lost the midfield battle against a new-look Spurs side in the second half, which is sure to be a concern for manager Erik ten Hag, while their away form also leaves a little to be desired as they have only won three of their last 11 Premier League games on the road since the turn of the year.
The Red Devils will welcome a return to Old Trafford, though, where they have not lost in the top flight since the opening day of last season against Brighton & Hove Albion, and they will be confident of success against Nottingham Forest on Saturday having won each of their last 10 meetings by an aggregate score of 36-3.
Indeed, Ten Hag’s men won all four encounters with Forest across all competitions last season without conceding a goal, including a 3-0 Premier League win at the Theatre of Dreams nine months ago.
Nottingham Forest’s valiant fightback against Arsenal on the opening weekend was ultimately in vain as they suffered a 2-1 defeat in North London, but they responded with victory by the same scoreline at home against newly-promoted Sheffield United last Friday.
Taiwo Awoniyi followed up his strike against the Gunners with a third-minute opener versus the Blades, that was later cancelled out in impressive fashion by debutant Gustavo Hamer three minutes after the break.
However, it was Forest who had the last laugh as substitute Chris Wood headed home an 89th-minute winner just five minutes after entering the field of play to secure maximum points at the City Ground.
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Although Steve Cooper was full of praise for his side after the victory, the Forest boss has encouraged his players to show a greater level of “ruthlessness” in the final third and avoid “complacency”.
Forest’s home form was a huge factor behind their success in avoiding relegation last season, accumulating 30 of their 38 points at the City Ground, while their form on the road was ranked the worst of all 20 Premier League clubs, winning just one, drawing five and losing 13 of their 19 away matches.
Hopes of quickly rectifying their away form will no doubt be a tall order for the Tricky Trees, who follow up their tricky trip to Arsenal with challenging visits to Man United, Chelsea and reigning champions Manchester City. Forest head into Saturday’s fixture having lost more Premier League games against Man United than against any other opponent, while they last beat the Red Devils back in 1994 – a 2-1 win at Old Trafford.
