Brighton vs Nottingham Forest: Match preview, lineups, quotes, form, injuries and how to watch

When and where to watch Brighton vs Nottingham Forest

Brighton vs Nottingham kicks off at 7.30pm on Tuesday 18 October.

You can catch all the action from the Amex on Prime Video via BT TV. 

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest match preview

Both sides suffered defeats at the weekend, so will be keen to bounce back with a win at the Amex.

Brighton continue to play well up to a point, but a lack of goals is really hurting Roberto de Zerbi’s men.

After tricky ties against Liverpool and Spurs, De Zerbi would’ve seen Friday evening as an opportunity to pick up three points against Brentford.

However a 2-0 defeat now makes this home fixture against bottom-of-the-table Nottingham Forest even more important. A win, and the manager’s first victory in England, is imperative.

Nottingham Forest need to pick themselves up after a late penalty miss meant they left Molineux empty handed.

Despite not picking up a point against Wolves, Steve Cooper’s side did show the kind of grit and determination that could save them, but they’ll need to be more clinical in front of goal going forwards. 

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest predicted lineups

Brighton: (4-4-2) Sanchez; Webster, Dunk, Estupinan, Veltman, March, Mac Allister, Trossard, Caicedo, Gross, Welbeck.

Nottingham Forest: (4-3-3) Henderson; Cook, Williams, Toffolo, McKenna, Kouyate, Yates, Freuler, Gibbs-White, Johnson, Dennis.

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest: Injuries and suspensions

After looking lively during Brighton’s 2-0 defeat to Brentford last Friday, Kaoru Mitoma will miss out on the visit of Forest.

The Japanese international left the Gtech Community Stadium on crutches and in an ankle brace, so is likely to miss the weekend match against Man City too.

For Forest, Serge Aurier remains out as do Jack Colback and Moussa Niakhate. 

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest: Form guide

Roberto de Zerbi has now gone three matches without a win since arriving at Brighton.

After an impressive performance against Liverpool upon his arrival, things have fizzled out somewhat for the south-coast club.

The Italian would’ve seen a trip to Brentford on Friday as the ideal opportunity to claim a maiden victory after tough ties against Liverpool and Spurs, but it wasn’t to be.

Despite the Bees losing their previous match 5-1 against Newcastle, they bounced back to beat Brighton 2-0. De Zerbi will know that Nottingham Forest at home is now a must win.

After picking up a point against Aston Villa the week before, Nottingham Forest reverted to type against Wolves.

Like Brighton, Wolves have struggled to score this season, but managed to take the three points via a Ruben Neves penalty.

Forest had the opportunity to salvage a point, but a Brennan Johnson penalty miss put pay to that.

Steve Cooper’s men will need to show that same grit and determination, but be braver and more clinical at the Amex if they want to record their second win of the season. 

He said what?!

Roberto de Zerbi on his side’s inability to find the back of the net:

"I think to win the games you have to score. We had 21 shots but we have not found the goals. We lost too many second balls. I think we played a good game but if you want to win you have to score. We have had a lot of chances but we haven't found the goal.

"The last pass, we made mistakes. From tomorrow we have to think about Nottingham Forest. We have to know maybe this is our problem for the moment because against Tottenham was the same, we had a lot of shots but we didn't score.”

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest: Players to watch

As Brighton’s main man up top, Seagull’s fans will be disappointed that Danny Welbeck has gone nine matches without a goal this season.

And it appears to be the same old story for Brighton – nice, attractive football up to a point, but little end product. Leandro Trossard and the Brighton midfield have plugged the gaps, but with no goals in their last two matches, Brighton could really do with more output from their striker. Against Nottingham Forest, who’ve shipped 23 goals this season (second only to Leicester), Welbeck should get chances to get off the mark.

Brennan Johnson missed the all-important penalty that would’ve salvaged a point for Forest at the weekend.

Keep an eye on how the youngster reacts against Brighton. After the match, boss Steve Cooper said: “He's not great, obviously. He'll be disappointed he's missed the penalty, but he's also scored some really important ones for us over the last 12 months or so.”

Brighton vs Nottingham Forest: Key stats

• Mid-week slump: Brighton are winless in their last eight midweek (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday) Premier League games (D3 L5) since beating Manchester City 3-2 in May 2021.

• Home sweet home: Brighton lost their last home Premier League match, ending a seven-game unbeaten run in the league at the Amex Stadium. However, the Seagulls are unbeaten in their last seven home league games against promoted sides (W3 D4).

• Living for the weekend: In a run stretching back to 1996, Nottingham Forest have won just one of their last 14 midweek (Tues, Weds, Thurs) Premier League games (D5 L8), winning 1-0 at West Ham in January 1997.

• First-goal knockout: Nottingham Forest haven't won any of their last 40 Premier League games when they've conceded first, losing 32 times in the process (D8) – including losing all five games this season when conceding first.

• Couldn’t hit a barndoor with a banjo: After scoring three goals from just six attempts in Roberto De Zerbi’s first match in charge, Brighton have failed to score with any of their 35 shots over their last two Premier League games (14 vs Spurs, 21 vs Brentford).