Key events
17 min A Forest corner is headed away to Aina, who blasts over from 20 yards.
16 min Isak goes over in the area after a challenge from Danilo. There’s a brief shout for a penalty from the home crowd but that’s all.
14 min Despite the odd bit of self-harm like that Danilo pass, Forest have made a pretty comfortable start to the game. Newcastle are not at their ferocious best, yet.
12 min Danilo plays an absurd pass across his own area, straight to Almiron on the edge of the box. He finds Miley who plays in Trippier, but he floats a harmless chip over the bar.
11 min Forest almost get in trouble trying to play out from the back. With Newcastle waiting to pounce, the keeper Turner decides to aveit straight into the crowd. Merry Christmas.
9 min Miley, an elusive player whose ghostly movement resembles that of Kai Havertz, wanders into space on the right of the area and stands up a decent cross that is headed away at the far post.
7 min Nothing much to report at the moment. Forest certainly haven’t parked the bus, but both attacks are still rubbing the sleep out of their face.
5 min Elanga has started on the right for Forest, with Hudson-Odoi on the left.
4 min Now Forest win a corner. They also take it short and also make a mess of it.
3 min: Chance for Forest! Elanga’s shot is blocked and rebounds to Miley on the edge of the area. He runs into his own player, allowing Gibbs-White to seize possession and drag a shot just wide of the left-hand post. That was a pretty good chance.
1 min Trippier wins a corner for Newcastle inside 20 seconds. He takes it short to Almiron, who works it infield to Longstaff. His through pass back towards Trippier is cut out, the end.
1 min Peep peep! Newcastle kick off from left to right as we watch. It looks a nice day at St James’ Park, with sunshine and everything.
From the archive: Newcastle v Nottm Forest
Only a spark was needed to set alight combustible feelings, and a balding middle-aged looking pugilist provided it. His paunch exposed, his shirt flying, this heavyweight bare-knuckle fighter set his arms flailing like a windmill and at least five policemen were needed to cool his ardour and pin him to the muddy turf. But the damage had been done and the crowd went haring down the pitch to the Gallowgate end.
And here’s what Nuno had to say
Eddie Howe’s pre-match thoughts
Team news
Sven Botman makes his first start since September, replacing the injured Jamaal Lascelles in defence. Alexander Isak is preferred to Callum Wilson in the only other change from Saturday’s defeat at Luton. Joelinton is back on the bench.
Nuno Espirito Santo has made six changes to the Nottingham Forest side. Ola Aina, Moussa Niakhate, Gonzalo Montiel, Danilo, Ibrahim Sangare and Callum Hudson-Odoi come in for Willy Boly (suspended after that absurd red card against Bournemouth), Harry Toffolo, Neco Williams, Ryan Yates, Orel Mangala and Divock Origi.
Newcastle (4-1-2-3) Dubravka; Trippier, Schar, Botman, Burn; Bruno Guimaraes; Miley, Longstaff; Almiron, Isak, Gordon.
Substitutes: Karius, Dummett, Joelinton, Wilson, Ritchie, Krafth, Hall, Livramento, Murphy
Nottingham Forest (possible 4-2-3-1) Turner; Montiel, Murillo, Niakhate, Aina; Danilo, Sangare; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Substitutes: Odysseas, Nuno, Worrall, Mangala, Williams, Kouyate, Dominguez, Yates, Origi.
Referee Chris Kavanagh.
Half-term reports
Newcastle “A heady mix of exhilaration and frustration”
Nottingham Forest “Started promisingly but fell away alarmingly”
The set is staged
Preamble
Hello and welcome to live, minute-by-minute coverage of Newcastle v Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. After a 33-hour Christmas break, the Premier League is back. And while plenty are keen to get away from home over the Christmas period, even if it’s just for a sanity-restoring walk round the block, Newcastle will be very glad to be back at St James’ Park. Their away performances have collapsed since the injury crisis took hold, but their home form – at least in domestic competition – remains impeccable.
Home defeats to Dortmund and Milan cost Newcastle a place in Europe, but in the Premier League they won have seven in a row, scoring 16 and conceding only one. They could do with another victory today to draw a line under a desperate month and boost morale ahead of a series of big games in January.
Forest’s need for points is arguably even greater. They’re in quicksand, having losing six of their last seven league games, and could end the day in the bottom three for the first time this season. Saturday’s defeat to Bournemouth was so cruel as to verge on the sadistic. A result today, even a hard-fought draw, would make Forest feel a bit more optimistic about what the ne year holds.
Kick off 12.30pm.
