Newcastle United head to in-form Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon in their last match before the final international break of 2024.

The Magpies head to the East Midlands on the back of two excellent victories, with Chelsea having been dumped out of the Carabao Cup before Arsenal were seen off in the Premier League at St James’ Park last weekend.

Eddie Howe’s men sit 11th in the table, but are only three points off the top four, with the top half of the league looking extremely crowded after ten games have been played.

Forest meanwhile, are one of the surprises of the season, with Nuno’s men having lost just once this season, form which sees them occupy the loft height of third place.

The trip to the City Ground will be a tough one, with Magpies legend Alan Shearer anticipating a closely-run contest.

Alan Shearer predicts Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle

Shearer has identified two areas of strength for Sunday’s hosts, one of which will be a very familiar face to Newcastle fans.

A trip to the City Ground is a tough game for Newcastle at this moment in time,” Shearer writes in his Metro column.

“Chris Wood is in the form of his life, scoring again last week and Forest’s two centre-backs are also both impressive; Murillo and Milenkovic have formed a real partnership there and they had a really good win against West Ham.

“Newcastle were brilliant against Arsenal and back to their normal selves once again and if they were back at home, I’d be tempted to say Newcastle will win, but I’ll go for a draw at the City Ground.”

Referee appointed for Forest vs Newcastle

Anthony Taylor will be the man in the middle for this one, as the Premier League has appointed one of their most experienced referees for this Sunday afternoon clash.

Taylor has taken charge of 35 Newcastle United matches, with the Magpies winning 14 of them, drawing four and losing 17.

His last Newcastle game was the 4-1 win at Burnley at a damp Turf Moor at the end of last season.

Taylor has doled out 41 yellow cards in his nine Premier League games so far this season and one red when he sent off former Newcastle winger Ryan Fraser for Southampton in their 3-2 defeat to Leicester City last month.

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