Nottingham Forest are struggling to find the back of the net and find themselves at the wrong end of the Premier League table

It was a case of deja vu for Oliver Glasner in his post-match press conference, just as it had been for Nottingham Forest on the pitch.

A round of media interviews after his team’s 1-0 defeat to Arsenal had all opened with a similar theme. His final one of the evening was no different as it was put to the Reds head coach that the result was harsh on his team.

“Six times the same question,” Glasner replied, as if to underline the general consensus about how the game had unfolded. “Yes, it feels very harsh. It feels unfair but we have to accept it. We are missing some bits.”

The bits Forest are missing are at the top end of the pitch. It is their lack of goals that continues to present a major problem.

Five games in all competitions without finding the back of the net at home; a run stretching to 504 minutes in total, going back to the final day of last season. Six months without a league win on their own turf, stretching back to April’s 4-1 triumph over Burnley.

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The good news is the Reds’ next two fixtures are on the road, starting against Ipswich Town on Friday (8pm kick-off). The bad news is Manchester City, then Chelsea and Brighton and Hove Albion (three of the current top four) are next up at the City Ground.

Equally, on the positive side, Forest are creating chances and have put in some encouraging performances overall. On the flip side, depending on which camp fans are in, the underlying data either offers reason for optimism or cause for concern.

Seven games of the campaign down, Glasner’s side are 19th in the table with five points. They are also the biggest underperformers when it comes to expected points compared to actual points and expected goals compared to actual goals scored.

The Reds are bottom of Opta’s goals versus expected goals (xG) standings with -6.20. They have amassed an xG of 11.20 (the seventh-best in the division) but have registered only five goals in total.

Similarly, there is a vast difference between expected points (11.3) and Forest’s actual points tally. Their expected position in the table is sixth, when the reality is they are just the one point ahead of rock-bottom Sunderland.

Of course, the table is still taking shape and it remains very compact. Beat the Tractor Boys and Glasner’s side would climb up several spots, at least for a few hours.

To do that, though, would involve the small matter of scoring an actual goal. And as many a manager or footballer will argue, that is the hardest part of the game.

The Reds have notched up the third-highest shots tally in the Premier League with 120, below only Manchester United (138) and Brighton (125). But only 25 of those efforts have been on target and a conversion rate of a measly 4.17% is the worst in the top flight.

According to Fotmob, Glasner’s men have created 21 big chances in their seven games - the eighth-best record in the league. However, they have missed 17 of them - with only Bournemouth and Everton (both 18) squandering more.

Both Liam Delap and Chris Wood have come in for criticism from some pundits amid Forest’s struggles. Both have been guilty of wasting key opportunities in the last couple of games.

Troy Deeney has compared Delap to a “deer in headlights” and urged the summer signing to show more composure. Ian Wright hit out at Wood’s “very surprising” decision to take too long to get a shot away in the dying minutes against the Gunners.

Whereas Noni Madueke made the most of Arsenal’s only effort on target on Sunday to secure the three points in the 80th minute, the hosts were left frustrated that all of their good work counted for nothing. To rub salt in the wound, a deflection of Jair Cunha took the decisive strike past Matz Sels.

Morgan Gibbs-White was the last player to get on the scoresheet for the club at the City Ground, when he netted in the 34th minute of the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth in May. In 2026, the Reds have scored just eight Premier League goals at home, and that aforementioned victory over Burnley accounts for half of that tally.

Other than one momentary lapse, Glasner’s charges were defensively excellent against the title holders. Sunday’s game plan largely worked, aside from when it came to capitalising on attacking opportunities and set-pieces.

Forest were always going to see little of the ball against Arsenal, it was a matter of using it when it came their way. Despite having just 26% possession, the hosts racked up more shots than their opponents with 14 to the visitors’ nine.

Ensuring his teams are tight at the back is a priority for Glasner, and the numbers back that up amid nine goals conceded so far. The Reds are fourth-best in the division for xG against with 8.35. Only Bournemouth (67) can better their tally of 74 shots faced and only Arsenal (21) have faced fewer shots on target than Forest’s 23.

A lack of cutting edge, an inability to convert xG into actual goals, continues to prove costly. It has been a familiar tale this season and a continuation of an issue that was present last term.

“I can't talk about what was before, but this season what we are missing is that in every single game we have our moments but then we don't take them,” Glasner reflected. “Especially after half-time, we were creating many good situations. Of course, you need to score and take the lead - this is what we can't do at the moment.”

He insisted it was not a confidence issue for his team. One player alone can not be blamed for a collection of misses as several have squandered chances in recent games.

“We have eight corners, and then we have two great situations with direct free-kicks, and also we don't take it. So, we have these situations, and that's what we need to improve and what we will work on,” Glasner said at the weekend.

Grabbing a few goals at Portman Road would certainly do wonders for bolstering belief. Delap will have the added incentive of trying to net against his former club for that one.

The 23-year-old actually had a good game last time out as he caused Mikel Arteta’s side plenty of problems. He was a nuisance with his physical presence and did his best to hold the ball up.

Forest expect to have Gibbs-White back from a muscle problem for Friday, which will also come as a boost. Although not quite at his mercurial best so far this term, he remains an integral and influential player in this team.

Some will protest that the data simply shows where the Reds are falling short, others will argue it is an indicator things are close to clicking. Friday night would be a good time for the latter to apply.