Everton carry their weary legs to another festive away day as they take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
The Toffees have not won between Christmas and New Year since 2020, and Saturday’s draw with Burnley hinted at why. Injuries and AFCON have blunted their forward line, and the paucity of options led to a leggy performance.
The main positive was probably the performance of Tyler Dibling. The 19-year-old was hooked at half-time of his only other Premier League start for the Toffees against
Palace in October, but showed glimpses of why they were persuaded to pay such a hefty fee for him. With Iliman Ndiaye absent for the next month this is his big chance to cement a place in the side.
There was frustration at a non-penalty award for a handball eerily similar to the one given against Everton against Brighton in August. That would have masked what was a pretty average performance and definitely a game to file under “at least we didn’t lose” after Burnley missed two absolute sitters late on.
But again, some perspective is needed. Everton are eight points and four places better off than at the same stage last season. It is far from perfect, sure, but in this attritional stage of the season every point is precious, regardless of opposition or performance.
The opposition
In what I think is known as a “quirk of the fixture list”, Everton take on Forest just 24 days after the home meeting. The Toffees were dominant that day and deservedly took the points, though they haven’t scored in their subsequent three games.
It has been a mixed bag for Forest since that game. A win in Europe was followed up by a thumping victory over Spurs, but they take on the Toffees seeking to avoid a third successive defeat after losing 1–0 at Fulham and 2–1 to Manchester City.
Everton have enjoyed their visits to the City Ground since Forest’s return to the top flight. A 2–2 draw in 2023 has been followed by two 1–0 wins, the latter in April severely damaging Forest’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League. Indeed, Everton have lost just one of their seven meetings since Forest’s promotion – at Goodison in their final game of 2024.
Previous meeting
Everton 3–0 Nottingham Forest, 6 December 2025
For just the second time in the Premier League era, the previous meeting with Everton’s next opponent was in the same month. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was excellent, with his early shot deflecting in off Nikola Milenković for an own goal before rounding off the scoring in the second half. The biggest cheer was arguably for Therino Barry, who stroked home his first Toffees goal shortly before the break.
Team news
David Moyes held his pre-Forest press conference immediately after the Burnley game, so we do not have the latest team news, though there are likely to be a few bumps and bruises after the game at Turf Moor.
Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye are still at AFCON, while Seamus Coleman and Jarrad Branthwaite are out with hamstring injuries.
Final word
Everton have lost their final game of the calendar year in both 2023 and 2024 with an aggregate score of 5–0, one of a myriad reasons why I am worried about this game. As mentioned earlier, this is a really tough part of the season where every result needs to be ground out. Whatever happens, I doubt it will be pretty.
