Forest's only victories this season were on the Premier League's opening day and against Porto in the Europa League on October 23, Dyche's first game as manager. The team is currently struggling, having lost to Bournemouth and drawn with Manchester United in the Premier League.
Forest's recent European encounter ended in a goalless draw against Sturm Graz. Despite facing Leeds, who are slightly ahead of them in the standings, Dyche advises patience. "We haven't got magic dust," he stated, emphasising that transforming players into prolific scorers isn't simple. Forest is currently 19th with six points, highlighting the challenge they face.
Dyche acknowledged the difficulty of their situation, saying fans shouldn't underestimate it. "When I was on the outside looking at it and fans were telling me, 'we're going to do this and we're going to do that,' I said 'I don't think it's that easy,'" he remarked. He stressed that reaching Europe doesn't guarantee success without significant effort.
Forest has scored only seven goals this season, making them one of the league's lowest scorers. Leeds have managed just two more goals than Forest. Daniel Farke, Leeds' manager, commented on their position: "We are a newly promoted side, so you can't expect us to make as many chances as [Erling] Haaland does for Manchester City."
Farke highlighted his team's focus on teamwork over individual statistics. "The main thing is that we are successful as a team," he said. Despite their efforts, Leeds has failed to score in five out of ten games this season. Farke holds a record for teams failing to score in 54% of his Premier League matches.
Key Players to WatchMorgan Gibbs-White stands out for Nottingham Forest with involvement in 45 Premier League goals (18 goals and 27 assists). He aims to score in back-to-back games for the first time since May. For Leeds United, Noah Okafor impresses with his dribbling skills, ranking third in dribbles per 90 minutes among players with over 250 minutes played this season.
The upcoming match presents an opportunity for both teams to improve their standings. Leeds recently allowed Brighton an xG total of 3.07 during a defeat and faced seven shots on target. Conversely, they managed only five shots themselves during that game.
Match Prediction and Historical ContextNottingham Forest has not kept a clean sheet in their last 18 Premier League matches. This marks their second top-flight season without a clean sheet in their first ten games since 1960-61. Meanwhile, Leeds has conceded the opening goal in all five away matches this season.
The Whites have lost 16 of their last 17 away games when conceding first but did secure a win against Wolves earlier this season. Forest hasn't won any of their last nine league matches but remains unbeaten at home against Leeds since November 1971.
The probability of Nottingham Forest winning stands at 51.3%, while a draw is predicted at 24.8%. Leeds United's chances are estimated at 23.9%. Both teams will look to break their respective streaks and gain crucial points from this encounter.