FA Cup record holders Arsenal travel to Nottingham Forest of the Championship in the Third Round of this season’s competition, looking to avoid a slip up as they aim to return to winning ways.
The Gunners travel to the City Ground on the back of a last-minute 2-1 defeat to Manchester City last weekend in the Premier League, so an instant response will be expected of Mikel Arteta’s side, who go in search of their 15th FA Cup title.
Their hosts, Forest, will be looking to cause an upset as they hope to make it to the Fourth Round for a second consecutive season.
Steve Cooper’s side are currently ninth in the Championship and will provide a tricky test for their visitors, as they have aspirations of facing them in league action next season.
Arteta may opt for some squad rotation, but he is already without a number of players due to injury and Africa Cup of Nations commitments, so a strong side may still be expected to play.
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When is the game?
Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal will kick-off at 5:10pm on Sunday, January 9 at the City Ground.
The last meeting between the two sides came in September 2019, when the Gunners ran riot in a 5-0 victory over their visitors at the Emirates Stadium in the Carabao Cup Third Round.
A Gabriel Martinelli double and strikes from Rob Holding, Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson saw the Gunners advance to the next stage of the competition.
How to watch
The match will be televised on ITV, while the game can also be streamed on the ITV Hub.
Highlights will also be available on The FA Cup: Third Round Highlights show at 22:30 on BBC One.
Match odds
Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal odds with Grosvenor Sport
Forest 5/1
Draw 29/10
Arsenal 4/7
*odds subject to change
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Team news
Forest had their game with Barnsley on Monday postponed due to a high number of injuries and positive Covid-19 cases, although the situation seems to have improved in time for Sunday’s visit of Arsenal.
However, the hosts have injury concerns in the form of Alex Mighten, Max Lowe, Loic Mbe Soh, Joe Lolley and Richie Laryea, while Mohamed Drager (Tunisia) is on Africa Cup of Nations duty.
Jordi Osei-Tutu has returned to Arsenal following the termination of his loan spell, but new signings Keinan Davis and Steve Cook could make their debuts.
As for Mikel Arteta, he could be without up to eight of his first team players as his resources become stretched for this fixture.
Calum Chambers (Covid-19) is still a doubt, while Eddie Nketiah has recently returned a positive test result, but Gabriel (suspended) and Sead Kolasinac (ankle) are definitely out.
The Gunners will also be without the AFCON 2021 quartet of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Thomas Partey, Mohamed Elneny and Nicolas Pepe.
