After a 1-0 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the week, Nottingham Forest face another away trip and their first visit to Everton's new stadium on Merseyside.
Everton are currently tenth in the table, and they also recorded a victory in the week, with a 1-0 win at Bournemouth, thanks to a goal from Jack Grealish. The Toffees did, however, suffer a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle United in their last home game. It was a poor performance right from the first minute that day as David Moyes' side conceded an early goal and never recovered. Forest will take optimism from that game and be aware that they have the potential to cause problems for the home side.
In the games between the two sides last year, Everton recorded a 1-0 victory at the City Ground in April, but Forest claimed a 2-0 win at Goodison Park in December. They could win consecutive away league games against Everton for the first time if victorious this weekend.
Having won away at both Everton and **Liverpool**last season, and winning at Anfield two weeks ago, they could also become the first team to win away against both Merseyside clubs in consecutive league campaigns since Manchester United in 2006-07/2007-08.
**Sean Dyche's**Forest are currently sixteenth in this season's Premier League and if they claim the three points from this game then, even if only temporarily, they could move above Fulham who are a place and two points above them.
Dyche was sacked earlier this year after almost two years in charge of Everton, and during that time he faced several challenges on and off the pitch.
He did successfully keep them in the Premier League on the final day of his first season, despite the fact that when he took over from Frank Lampard, the club were in the relegation zone.
He also delivered a respectable 15th-place finish in the 2023-24 season, despite them being deducted eight points for two separate breaches of financial rules.
What has been the impact of Dyche at Forest so far?
Under former manager Ange Postecoglou, the side were conceding a lot of goals. They conceded ten goals in his five league games in charge.
Since Dyche has arrived, it is down to seven conceded in six games, and that might not represent a drastic improvement, but it is certainly a positive sign. What will be more pleasing is that it is now back-to-back clean sheets in away games. Their first clean sheet of the season came two weeks ago at Liverpool, and this was followed up with another at Wolves in the week.
Some will rightly say there is room for further improvement, but there are reasons to be optimistic. Dyche sides are typically known for being well-organised and solid at the back, and this was something that was evident with Forest last season underNuno Espirito Santo.
A partnership of **Murilloand Nikola Milenkovic at centre-back are often tough to beat. Murillo may still be a doubt for this game, but in the week, Morato made up for his error againstBrighton and[**Hove Albion](https://www.vavel.com/en/football/2025/11/08/premier-league/1240654-crystalpalace-vs-brightonhove-albion-premier-league-preview-gameweek-11-2025.html) by putting in a good display against Wolves.
Igor Jesus scored his first league goal in the win at Wolves, and fans will be hoping that this will now give him the confidence to get more.
He has the pace and the ability to give the Everton defenders something to worry about.
Following the Wolves game, Dyche confirmed that striker Chris Wood will still be out for a number of weeks, and, whilst this may disappoint fans, there is hope that Jesus can now fill that void and take his chance.
He has featured regularly in games in recent weeks and now looks set for a longer run in the side and would arguably be one of the first names on the team sheet at present.
Omari Hutchinson had to be patient, but was given his first league start of the season that week, and he would like to think that he has done enough to retain that. He provided the assist for the goal and was lively.
Dyche has a number of wide options to choose from, and it is probably the one area of the pitch where he is yet to decide on his first-choice players.
Nicolas Dominguez and Dan Ndoye started the recent home game with Brighton, and then it was Hutchinson and Ndoye given the nod at Wolves. Callum Hudson-Odoi is another option who has come on from the bench at halftime in recent games.
The goal on Wednesday came from a cross into the box and a header, so Forest know that their wide players can hold the keys to unlocking tight games.
Plenty of points to play for
Everyone connected with Forest will know that there is a lot of football still to be played this season. There are a lot of games coming up over the festive period, and some fans will be looking at the Everton game and view this as a realistic opportunity to pick up some points.
They will know not to underestimate Everto,n but should go into it with a degree of confidence. Some fans will argue that the performance against Wolves could have been better, but they left with the three points, and, in Forest's current situation, that is all that matters.
It could be another tight game this time out as The Toffees are not a side who score many goals. They have only scored one more than Forest all season, and Forest went nine without a win. That said, Everton are a strong unit and do not concede many.
Forest's next away game is a trip to London to play Fulham, the side currently one place above them, so there are some interesting fixtures coming up. Fans will be hoping the run of games coming up gives them a chance to build momentum and really start to look up the table.
The defeat to Brighton last Sunday put an end to their run of improved results, but the Wolves game provided the ideal opportunity to get going again.
Now, they will be looking to make it a good week with the chance for consecutive wins and a remarkable hat-trick of away wins. That alone would represent significant improvements for a side who went from early August to mid-November without a league win.