With six players away on international duty and another half a dozen possibly sidelined, Nottingham Forest look ill-equipped to perform ahead of Tuesday evening’s tussle with Arsenal and the Londoners are the logical pick to claim maximum points at the City Ground.

Mikel Arteta’s title outsiders looked back to their fluid best against Crystal Palace last time out and their five-goal showing against the Eagles was the perfect tonic to end a series of frustrating results.

With Ola Aina, Moussa Niakhate, Willy Boly, Cheikhou Kouyaté, Ibrahim Sangare and Serge Aurier all competing at AFCON, Forest are missing some important bodies in defence and midfield, and Espirito Santo has been mixing and matching combinations at the back with limited success in their absence.

Arsenal are slick enough operators to capitalise on Forest’s defensive issues and are worth adding to your bet builder slip to win on Tuesday, while a high-scoring contest at the City Ground also feels like a big possibility.

Nuno Espirito Santo is still getting a handle on things from a tactical perspective and Forest’s games have been chaotic at times since his arrival, averaging 4.28 goals per 90 minutes overall. The net rattled at least four times in all but one of Forest’s last four Premier League fixtures and excitement levels could be lofty again here.

Leandro Trossard was given the nod to start for just the seventh time in the Premier League this season against Palace and the Belgian made an impressive impact against the Eagles, registering a game-high five attempts on goal.

The winger matched that output (five) on his last Premier League start before that against West Ham (Dec 28) and he could have more joy if selected against Forest, especially with the hosts shorn of some first-teamers at fullback.

Backing Trossard to clock two or more attempts is the play here while Bukayo Saka could be worth siding with in the accuracy stakes on the opposite flank. The England international failed to find his range against Palace, however, the 22-year-old landed at least one blow on target in eight of his last nine appearances before that.

For Forest, the obvious threat comes in the shape of burly centre-forward Chris Wood. The striker has looked sharp since ending his joyless spell at Newcastle and the 32-year-old has troubled the opposing keeper with one of more shots on target in five of his last seven runouts. Wood’s physicality from open play and from set pieces could unsettle Arsenal’s defenders.

Arsenal dominated 78% possession and won eight corners to Nottingham Forest’s three when the teams met in London back in the campaign’s early throes and the Gunners should be the metric masters again in Tuesday’s rematch.

Arsenal have won more corners this season (164) than any other Premier League team and their tally has been kept meaty by an unmatched ability to clock up the corners in away games.

Mikel Arteta’s troops have been winning 7.10 corners per 90 on the road while Forest have been conceding 5.60 of them per home game on average, a figure that earns them the division’s fourth-worst record in that regard.

A target of over 4.0 corners looks like a modest one for Arsenal to beat at the City Ground and the Gunners passed that test in each of their three previous meetings with Forest since the latter’s return to the top flight in 2022.

If you’re determined to include a total corner leg instead, it would be wise to aim for a modest mark. Nottingham Forest (10.10) and Arsenal’s (10.57) overall total corners per game figures for the campaign don’t excite, though backing over 8.0 to land for both teams combined should be achievable.

Nuno Espirito Santo settled on a combative trio in midfield in Forest’s loss to Brentford last week and that trident of Orel Mangala, Danilo and Ryan Yates committed a combined seven fouls between them against the Bees with both anchormen Mangala and Danilo also cautioned in the loss.

Arsenal controlled just under 80% of the ball when they last faced Forest and a similarly dominant display from the Gunners on Tuesday should ensure that Mangala, Danilo and Yates have more tackles to make – and crucially – more fouls to commit.

Belgian destroyer Mangala has given away at least one free kick in 16 of his 19 appearances for Forest this season, while Brazilian dynamo Danilo sinned twice from his more withdrawn role against Brentford.

Yates meanwhile, is considered Forest’s chief midfield enforcer and the no-nonsense 26-year-old has committed at least one foul in 14 of his 18 runouts and at least two in five of his last eight appearances.

Interestingly, only four teams have been drawing more fouls per away game than Arsenal (11.9) in 202324, so expect the Gunners to pick up their fair share of bumps and bruises again at the City Ground.