Arsenal play host to Steve Coopers Nottingham Forest in the team's opening fixture of the new Premier League season.

Mikel Arteta's men will be hoping to get their new campaign off to a winning start should they want to mount another challenge for the league title.

Whereas Cooper's side will be looking to avoid another late-season relegation scrap.

Here is Football FanCast's official preview for the game…

When is the match, and is it on UK TV?

The match is set to be played on Saturday 12th August at 12.30pm GMT, the first early kick-off of the season.

UK viewers can watch the clash on TNT Sports, formerly known as BT Sport.

The last meeting between the sides resulted in a serious contrast in emotions between the teams.

The 1-0 victory for Forest meant they were guaranteed another year of Premier League football, whereas, for Arsenal, the loss meant that Manchester City were crowned champions without having to kick a ball.

Premier League: Every Opening Day Fixture

Who is Arsenal's key player?

The Gunners are currently blessed with an abundance of quality players, who could all be the deciding factor in a game like this.

However, it's their young captain, Martin Odegaard, who will be the deciding factor against Nottingham Forest.

The Norwegian has just had a fantastic year for the north London outfit and shows no sign of slowing down, quite the opposite in fact.

With an impressive 15 goals in the league last year, the midfield maestro will be looking to get off the mark early at home.

Who is Nottingham Forest's key player?

The end of last season saw a number of players step up for Cooper, but the man most synonymous with their uptick in form is Morgan Gibbs-White.

Notching up five goals and an impressive eight assists in the league last season proved vital in their battle against the drop.

The ex-Wolverhampton Wanderers man will be their key player going into next season, and an opening fixture at the Emirates Stadium is certainly a great platform to showcase his skills.

How will Arsenal line up?

The home side's lineup is likely to be quite different from the one that faced Forest in May if the rumoured transfers are to happen.

The big one looks to be the departure of Granit Xhaka and the arrival of Declan Rice.

Another player likely to feature is defender William Saliba. Arsenal were without their outstanding centre-half during the recent meeting between the two clubs due to injury, but it looks like he will be fit to return.

At this stage, the lineup for the Gunners will probably be:

Arron Ramsdale; Oleksandr Zinchenko – William Saliba – Gabriel – Ben White; Thomas Partey – Declan Rice – Martin Odegaard; Gabriel Martinelli – Gabriel Jesus – Bukayo Saka

How will Nottingham Forest line up?

Whilst there will undoubtedly be changes to the Forest lineup going into their season opener, it won't be anywhere near as drastic as the changes going into last season's opener.

The club have already announced that loanee Chris Wood has been made a permeant addition to the club, but a few players have also been released.

The most notable names to depart the club are Jesse Lingard, Jack Colback and Andre Ayew.

At this stage, the lineup for the Reds is likely to be:

Keylor Navas; Joe Worrall, Moussa Niakhate, Felipe; Serge Aurier, Ryan Yates, Danilo, Orel Mangala, Renan Lodi; Morgan Gibbs-White, Taiwo Awoniyi.

What were the last five Premier League meetings between Arsenal and Nottingham Forest? Nottingham Forest 1 – 0 Arsenal Arsenal 5 – 0 Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest 0 – 1 Arsenal Arsenal 2 – 1 Nottingham Forest Arsenal 2 – 0 Nottingham Forest

Looking at their last five Premier League meetings paints a picture of domination for the Gunners, with their only loss coming in their most recent match away at Forest.

However, due to Forest's long absence from England's topflight, these five results are perhaps not the best way of judging how the teams have performed against one another.

Before the game at the Emirates, which Arsenal won 5-0, the sides had played two FA Cup games and a League Cup game since January 2018.

In those three games, the Midlands outfit has come out on top, beating the Gunners twice.

So with that added context, the last five games in all competitions see Forest as the most dominant.

Who is going to win?

Despite Arsenal's campaign completely falling apart towards the back end of last season and Nottingham Forest pulling off a great escape, the Gunners should have enough to claim all three points at home.

That home advantage, plus the addition of Rice, will prove to be just too much for Steve Cooper's side in their first game of the season.

It won't be a walk in the park for Arsenal, though. Expect this to be a tightly contested affair with hopefully a few goals to boot.

FFC predicts: Arsenal Win