A look back at the most prolific Liverpool players against Nottingham Forest

With the Nottingham Forest match just a day away, I thought it would be a fun trip to take back in time to see which Liverpool players have enjoyed prolific spells against Forest in their time with the Reds.

Not surprisingly you are going to see some very iconic names on this list as our lineage of fine forwards goes way back as does our dominance of Forest.

This is not a power ranking, just a gathering of the four best to put the ball in the net in this fixture over the long years of its existence. Let's jump into it.

Michael Owen - 5 goals

We begin our journey with a player that will still get some mixed reviews from Liverpool fans for how his career at Anfield ended.

However, there is no denying that while he was a Liverpool player he was one of the best players in the world and he scored for fun against several teams and Nottingham Forest was definitely one of them.

The caveat in this one is that Owen did a lot of his damage in this fixture in one singular match. On October 24 1998, he bagged a ridiculous four goals in a crushing 5-1 win in front of the Reds faithful at Anfield.

He would later add his 5th goal against Forest in the reverse fixture later that season in April when he netted in the 2-2 draw at City Ground.

Robbie Fowler - 6 goals

Is anyone really surpsied to see "God" on a list of Liverpool's most prolific forwards? Fowler has dominated so many scoring records for a very long time that it would be more stunning to see him not make an appearance on a list like this.

But, I digress, and he put up numbers against Forest on the regular during his time in Red. His first goal in this fixture came in the spring of 1994 when he scored the winner in a 1-0 result for Liverpool.

His biggest memory will be the hat-trick that he recorded on New Year's Day in 1996 as he steered us to a 4-2 victory on the day through his sheer brilliance. Remember also this was a first half hat-trick, making it even more impressive.

His final goal would come in March 1997 as Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw away from home as Fowler opened the scoring in the 3rd minute.

John Aldridge - 8 goals

In terms of importance of goals scored in this fixture, Aldridge has a real shout for having scored some of the most important goals for Liverpool against Nottingham Forest.

After netting in a 1st division match, he would score a vital brace against the 2X European champions in the 1988 FA Cup Semifinal at Hillsborough. Both goals were needed as Liverpool squeaked into the Final via a 2-1 win as a result.

Yet another brace would follow a few days later in a rematch in league play at Anfield. Aldridge would make it a hat-trick of braces against Forest as he played hero in yet another FA Cup semifinal.

This one took place at Old Trafford as the Reds powered into the Final 3-1. While he did not score the utmost against Nottingham, there is no denying he played a huge role in some key meetings.

Roger Hunt/Ian Rush - 10 goals

We have a tie atop the all-time scoring ranks for Liverpool against Nottingham Forest. Rush spread his goals across nine separate matches with a brace coming on New Year's Day in 1990 during a 2-2 draw in English 1st Division action.

As for Hunt, all of his goals came in 1st Division matches between these two clubs during the 1960's. He scored his first goal for Liverpool in this matchup in the midst of a 2-0 win way back in 1964.

He would secure a brace against Forest on three different occasions. In those matches, Liverpool outscored their opponent 14-1 so there was a clear talent gap between the two sides.

Interestingly, for as many clutch FA Cup goals that Aldridge scored, all 20 of Rush and Hunts' goals against Forest came in league play. Rush saw his final goal in the series come in the Spring of '92 whereas Hunt signed off with the winning goal late in the 1968/69 season.