History.
The last time these two clubs met in the FA Cup, the game was a semi-final, scheduled for April 15, 1989, at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield. The most infamous date in English football history. Ninety-seven LFC fans lost their lives as a result of disastrously poor planning by police and stadium officials (94 that day, plus another three who died later).
Today, at 3:06 p.m., the exact time that infamous game was stopped, Nottingham Forest tweeted “NEVER FORGOTTEN. 97 seats will be left vacant at tomorrow’s match in honour of those who lost their lives at our FA Cup semi final in 1989. We look forward to welcoming Liverpool FC to The City Ground 
.”
.”History.
In 1979 and 1980, Nottingham Forest bizarrely won back-to-back European Cups, under the guidance of legendary manager Brian Clough Clough is the subject of an entertaining biopic film called The Damned United, which I recommend if you haven’t seen it. Clough was kind of a Pat Riley of English football. He was brilliant, young, brash, and arrogant. As a young coach, he challenged the established hierarchy, and he destroyed it. In the 1960s, Clough’s Derby County team were promoted from the Second Division to the top flight, and then won the top flight title in 1972. In 1975, Clough joined Nottingham Forest, which was then in the Second Division. Clough and his long-time assistant, Peter Taylor, got Forest promoted to the First Division after Clough’s second season. Forest immediately won the top flight title, making Clough one of only four managers who has ever won Premier League titles with two different clubs. The others are Tom Watson (Sunderland & Liverpool); Herbert Chapman (Huddersfield & Arsenal); and Kenny Dalglish (Liverpool & Blackburn Rovers).
After winning the title in 1978, Forest finished second in 1979 and fifth in 1980. Remarkably, however, Nottingham Forest won the European Cup (the predecessor to today’s Champions League) in BOTH of those seasons.
During Clough’s run at Nottingham Forest, Forest twice knocked Liverpool out of the League Cup, and also knocked them out of the European Cup. Clough retired in 1993, and his club’s fortunes never again rose to similar heights. Nottingham Forest was last in the Premier League in the 1998-99 season.
This season, Nottingham Forest are battling, but unlikely to win promotion from the Championship. They currently sit in ninth place. But, in the FA Cup, they have been terrific. On January 9, Forest beat Arsenal 1-0, then routed Leicester City a month later 4-1.
I don’t know how Forest normally play, but I fully expect them to park the bus for this one.
For us, I expect a fair amount of rotation, but I also expect Klopp to field a strong team.
It’s unclear whether Milner or Tsimikas are available for this one. They were out mid-week with unspecified “illness,” which I guessed was COVID. If I was right, they probably won’t be around for this one, either. That’s unfortunate, since Milner was an almost-certain starter in light of Trent’s injury, and Robbo clearly could also use a rest before he goes off to play for Scotland.
Up front, I expect Firmino to start, and probably Minamino. I’ll also guess that Salah starts, given that he’s a maniac, and he played only about 40 minutes against Arsenal. However, if I were in charge, I would leave Salah on the bench. During the break, Egypt and Senegal will be playing a very intense double-legged playoff to qualify for December’s World Cup. Those two games for Egypt will be highly taut and emotional, and Salah will play all of the available minutes. If we can avoid putting more miles on his clock, especially in light of his recent injury, I think we should. I would start Origi, Minamino, and Firmino.
In midfield, the big question is who plays as the #6. Both Fabinho and Henderson have been run into the ground over the last few weeks. But, the gap between them and Tyler Morton is probably just too much to trust Morton for this quarter finals match. Since we have five available subs, I would be inclined to play Henderson first half and Fabinho the second. I fully expect Naby Keïta to start on the left, and on the right it could be Harvey Elliott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, or Curtis Jones. I’ll guess Harvey.
At the back, Klopp said that Alisson will play the remainder of the FA Cup games. Apart from him, I don’t know who will start. Joe Gomez is probably a lock, but he could play either right back or center back. If Milner’s available, he will probably be RB. Likewise, if Tsimikas is available, he will probably play LB. But, I’m guessing that neither one of them will be able to play. If that’s true, then I would guess we will start a backline of JoGo, Matip (who, unlike VVD, won’t play over the international break), Konaté, and Robbo.
So, my guess at a lineup:
It would be nice for us to build a multiple-goal lead in the first half, then use some young subs in the second half as we cruise to the end. But Forest probably won’t cooperate.
I’ll guess that we eke one out in a bit of a slog.
Nottingham Forest 0 – LFC 1
