Premier League weekend preview: Forest scoring worries and Delap focus

The Premier League weekend preview begins with Ipswich v Nottingham Forest on Friday evening, a fixture shaped by Forest’s search for goals and Ipswich’s broader scoring threat. After seven games, Forest have five points and five goals scored, an early return that mirrors the same stage of last season.

Friday’s 8pm BST match also brings attention to Liam Delap, who may benefit from familiar surroundings, and to Morgan Gibbs-White, who is available again after missing the narrow defeat by Arsenal.

Forest’s start echoes last season

Nottingham Forest’s record after seven games is strikingly close to last season: five points and five goals scored. The comparison is sharpened by what followed a year ago, when Forest’s eighth game was a 3-0 home loss to Chelsea that marked the end for Ange Postecoglou.

There is no suggestion that Oliver Glasner is under similar scrutiny yet. Even so, the Austrian needs solutions for the league’s lowest scorers, with Forest’s limited output already a central issue heading into the weekend.

Gibbs-White’s availability offers a timely boost. Forest were without him for the narrow defeat by Arsenal, and his return gives Glasner another option as he looks to improve a side that has struggled to turn possession and pressure into goals.

“What we need to improve is getting [Delap] into more positions where he can score,” Glasner said before Friday evening’s game.

Delap back in familiar surroundings

Delap may benefit from a return to a setting where he has previously been productive. Twelve of his 14 career Premier League goals were scored for Ipswich, with six of them coming at Portman Road.

That record adds a clear attacking subplot to Friday night’s game. Delap’s past output for Ipswich underlines why getting him into better scoring positions is a priority, particularly in a match where Forest’s own scoring record is under the spotlight.

Ipswich, meanwhile, have not relied on one dominant finisher. Gary O’Neil also lacks a standout scorer, but he is squeezing goals out of his side. Eight different Ipswich players have scored in seven games; only Brighton and Brentford can better that total this season.

Ipswich’s spread of goals offers contrast

The contrast between the sides is one of the main themes of the fixture. Forest arrive with the league’s lowest scoring return, while Ipswich’s goals have been shared across the team.

That distribution can be valuable across a long Premier League campaign, especially when no single forward has separated himself as the consistent source of goals. For O’Neil, the challenge is to keep that variety while finding more reliable cutting edge in key moments.

For Forest, the need is more immediate: improve the supply line, make better use of returning players such as Gibbs-White, and give Delap more chances in areas where his Premier League record suggests he can be effective.

Premier League fixtures this weekend

The weekend schedule opens with Ipswich against Nottingham Forest before attention turns to Saturday’s matches involving Manchester City, Arsenal and Fulham.

• Ipswich v Nottingham Forest, Friday 8pm BST
• Aston Villa v Manchester City, Saturday 12.30pm BST
• Arsenal v Everton, Saturday 3pm BST
• Coventry v Fulham, Saturday 3pm BST

What happens next will depend on whether Forest can turn team changes and attacking adjustments into goals, and whether Ipswich’s shared scoring threat continues to deliver against a side still searching for rhythm in front of goal.