Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal prediction 18.10.2026 | Premier League

Forest's recent league form has been concerning, with their only victory coming away at Aston Villa. They were beaten 3-1 by Crystal Palace in their most recent outing, leaving them with just five goals from six league games. 

One particularly concerning trend for Oliver Glasner is Forest's home attacking record. Opta noted earlier this season that Forest were the only Premier League team yet to score in any of their first three home matches, although they had conceded just twice at the City Ground during that period.

Forest are expected to be without Igor Jesus, Nikola Milenkovic and Nicolo Savona, while Morgan Gibbs-White remains one of their main creative outlets. Gibbs-White has created a team-high 17 chances and leads Forest for xG, making him particularly important against Arsenal's strong defensive structure.

Arsenal have picked up where they left off last season. Mikel Arteta’s side have won five of their six league matches, scoring 10 goals and conceding only five. Their underlying numbers are equally impressive, with just 4.7 xGA, the lowest defensive expected-goals figure in the Premier League. Limiting opponents’ chance creation to a bare minimum has become a trademark feature of Arteta’s team. 

They demonstrated it once again in midweek in their Champions League encounter with Lille, when the French side managed to generate just 0.3 xG.

Bukayo Saka has been Arsenal's leading scorer with three league goals, while Declan Rice has provided three assists. Saka also returned from the bench to score and assist against Lille in midweek, strengthening the expectation that he will start at the City Ground.

William Saliba remains unavailable, while Piero Hincapie and Christos Tzolis are also sidelined. Martin Zubimendi is closer to returning but remains a fitness question ahead of the weekend.