Sean Dyche was dramatically sacked in the early hours of Thursday morning, leaving Nottingham Forest without a head coach 10 days before they host Liverpool.
Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis disposed of his third head coach this season so far with Dyche relieved of his duties after Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Wolves.
Though his side had dominated the game with 34 shots and 62 percent possession, a lack of cutting edge cost Dyche his job with the announcement made at 12.31am on Thursday.
Former Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira is being lined up to follow Dyche, Ange Postecoglou and Nuno Espirito Santo into the dugout.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Sunday, February 16, 2025: Wolverhampton Wanderers' manager Vítor Pereira during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers FC at Anfield. Liverpool won 2-1. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
His first home game could be against Liverpool, with Arne Slot‘s side travelling to the City Ground for their next Premier League fixture on February 22.
Forest will therefore hope for a new manager bounce which could cost the champions, particularly as the Reds have failed to win any of their last three meetings.
That includes a 3-0 defeat to Dyche’s Forest at Anfield in November, which was their eighth loss in a run of nine in 12 games.
Who was Nottingham Forest manager in their last 5 games vs. Liverpool?
Fixture Date Manager
Liverpool 0-3 Forest Nov 22 2025 Sean Dyche
Forest 1-1 Liverpool Jan 14, 2025 Nuno Espirito Santo
Liverpool 0-1 Forest Sep 14, 2024 Nuno Espirito Santo
Forest 0-1 Liverpool Mar 2, 2024 Nuno Espirito Santo
Liverpool 3-0 Forest Oct 29, 2023 Steve Cooper
Slot has faced Pereira once before, that being the 2-1 home win over Wolves a year ago when Luis Diaz and Mohamed Salah scored and Liverpool were top of the table.
Liverpool have faced calls to sack their head coach themselves this season but Slot’s tenure is expected to continue after the 1-0 win over Sunderland on Wednesday.
It means they remain in the hunt for a top-five finish and qualification for next season’s Champions League, which is considered the minimum requirement.
Before they face Forest, however, Liverpool host Brighton in the fourth round of the FA Cup on Saturday night – and success in that tournament is also viewed as a priority after the collapse of their title defence.
Dyche has faced Liverpool 18 times in his managerial career, winning only four of those and losing 12, with Man City (17), Arsenal (14) and Tottenham (13) the only clubs to beat his teams more often.