E.ON Spotlight: Forest vs Leicester City

Nottingham Forest return to Premier League action on Saturday as Leicester City visit The City Ground. Here, we take a look at everything you need to know about the two sides heading into the fixture...

FIXTURE DETAILS

Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City
Premier League
The City Ground
Saturday 14 January, 15:00 GMT

Referee: Paul Tierney
Assistants: Constantine Hatzidakis, Neil Davies
Fourth official: Samuel Barrott
VAR: Peter Bankes
Assistant VAR: Nick Greenhalgh

HEAD COACH'S VIEW

Head Coach Steve Cooper spoke to the media ahead of Saturday's clash at The City Ground.

"We're really enjoying our work, we're enjoying taking it game by game and committing to our plan. We're in the middle of the season, we've got a lot of games to play and we want to pick up as many points as possible.

"It's a local game and we will be mindful of that, but we've also got to think about how we can get success in the game because that's what we're in control of. We need to hone in on the game plan and really believe that we can carry it out well."

Supporters can watch the full pre-match press conference here.

LAST TIME OUT

We last faced tomorrow's opponents back in October as The Reds suffered a disappointing 4-0 defeat at the King Power Stadium following goals from James Maddison (2), Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka.

Our last home victory against The Foxes came in February last year as Forest defeated the then-Emirates FA Cup holders 4-1 at The City Ground on a memorable afternoon on Trentside. Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson, Joe Worrall and Djed Spence were all on the scoresheet in the fourth round win.

RECENT FORM

Rodgers' side were beaten in midweek by Newcastle United as their Carabao Cup campaign came to an end following a 2-0 defeat at St James' Park. In their most recent Premier League fixture, City were defeated 1-0 by Fulham at the King Power Stadium, with The Foxes currently sitting 13th in the division and level on points with The Reds.

This weekend's visitors are captained by defender Jonny Evans, while James Maddison tops the goalscoring charts with seven goals in all competitions so far this season.

Meanwhile, Forest come into Saturday's clash off the back of Wednesday evening's Carabao Cup quarter final triumph against Wolves as Cooper's men progressed to the semi final following a penalty shootout.

The Reds are currently 15th in the league table and maximum points would see Forest move above Leicester in the table.

PLAYED FOR BOTH: WES MORGAN

The Nottingham-born defender joined the Forest Academy in 2002 before going on to make 396 appearances in the Garibaldi, scoring 14 goals in the process before joining Leicester City in January 2012.

The defender played a key role as The Foxes won the 2015/16 Premier League title, playing every league fixture in the process. Morgan amassed 323 appearances in total, while also captaining his side to Emirates FA Cup triumph in 2021.

Following nine years at the King Power Stadium, Morgan announced his retirement following the conclusion of the 2020/21 campaign.