Four Liverpool players could miss key Nottingham Forest clash in January because of Premier League rule

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Four of Arne Slot's Liverpool squad are on four yellow cards after 18 Premier League games

Liverpool continued their impressive run of form under Arne Slot on Sunday afternoon as they romped to a 5-0 win at West Ham United for their biggest winning margin of the season.

The Reds have scored more goals in a single match this campaign after defeating Tottenham Hotspur 6-3 before Christmas but enjoyed a comfortable victory over the Hammers to maintain a tight grip on top spot in the Premier League.

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Up next is a home clash with rivals Manchester United, as the Red Devils travel to Anfield on Sunday afternoon. Following that the Reds are then in Carabao Cup action against Tottenham Hotspur. More domestic duties follow as they have an FA Cup tie at home to Accrington Stanley. Their next Premier League clash after facing United is against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday, January 14.

Four Liverpool players face suspension risk for Nottingham Forest clash

Cody Gakpo, Ryan Gravenberch, Ibrahima Konate and Darwin Nunez have all picked up four yellow cards this campaign and have one game remaining to avoid a further caution. Premier League rules state that any players who are booked five times within their clubs first 19 games will be handed a one game ban.

All Premier League clubs, bar Liverpool and Everton, will hit the 19-game threshold in the current round of games. The two Merseyside clubs will play their 19th games in matchweek 20 after the derby at Goodison Park was postponed earlier this month due to severe weather. If any of the four Liverpool players mentioned above are cautioned against United, they'll be banned for the tricky-looking trip to Forest. Yellow card suspensions are competition-specific so any player who might get hit with a suspension will be available to face Spurs and Accrington.

Konate has missed the last eight games due to injury but could return to face United this weekend, as manager Arne Slot hinted last week that he could recover in time. Fellow centre-back Joe Gomez has picked up a hamstring injury but the Frenchman might not be risked to start this weekend having spent more than a month out. Gravenberch has been reinvigorated under Slot and is likely to start this weekend. Gakpo has been among the goals lately and scored the second against West Ham while Nunez was an unused substitute at the London Stadium.

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Liverpool and Nottingham Forest recent head to head record

Darwin Nunez of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool FC at the City Ground on March 02, 2024Darwin Nunez of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool FC at the City Ground on March 02, 2024
Darwin Nunez of Liverpool celebrates scoring his team's first goal during the Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool FC at the City Ground on March 02, 2024 | Getty Images

Nunez is one man with fond memories of the City Ground, as he scored a 99th minute winner there last season as Liverpool won 1-0. The Reds have played the two-time European winners five times since their promotion via the Championship play-offs in 2022. The contests between the sides have been closely-matched with Liverpool winning three of the games and Forest winning two.

Forest won 1-0 in October 2022 with Liverpool winning the return game 3-2. The Reds did the double over Forest last season with a 3-0 win at Anfield and the late win at the City Ground thanks to Nunez's goal in March.

This season, Nuno Espírito Santo's side are the only team to have beaten Slot's Liverpool as they recorded a 1-0 victory at Anfield back in mid-September. Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the winning goal with 72 minutes played. The City Ground club are one of the surprise packages in the race for the Champions League and given their form this season, Slot will hope he does not have any suspensions to contend with when he takes his side to Nottingham next month.

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