It is a battle of the strugglers as Southampton host Nottingham Forest in a midweek Premier League fixture.
Southampton are coming off a 2-1 defeat at Fulham in their previous Premier League fixture. They looked set for a share of the spoils after James Ward-Prowse had made up for his earlier own goal but could not hold on and conceded a late winner.
The result means Southampton have now lost their last five Premier League matches, although they will consider themselves unlucky having been let down by poor defending in a few of those defeats. They remain bottom of the table and are in desperate need of a positive result that could spark a resurgence.
Home form will be pivotal in Southampton’s survival quest and they have seen a few positive results at St Mary’s to build on. Nathan Jones’ men claimed a 2-1 Carabao Cup victory over Lincoln City just after the international break and had previously earned a similar result against Chelsea while also holding out for 1-1 draws with West Ham and Arsenal.
Nottingham Forest earned a 1-1 draw against Chelsea in their previous Premier League fixture. They fell behind early in the encounter but Serge Aurier struck back midway through the second half for a share of the spoils.
While Nottingham Forest will be pleased to have earned a point against a big side, the result means they have claimed just one win from their last five Premier League matches. Steve Cooper’s men are still in the relegation zone but are now level on points with West Ham, who are just outside the bottom three.
One of the major problems for Nottingham Forest this season is a poor record on their travels. They are yet to win a single match away from home this term and have only scored once in eight matches on the road so far.
How the bookies view it
Southampton have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 21/20 by William Hill to claim the win. A victory for Nottingham Forest is valued at 29/10 by BetVictor while a draw is set at odds of 5/2 with bet365.
Head to head
Southampton have a 24-18 advantage with 12 draws from 54 previous matches against Nottingham Forest. The Saints also claimed a 3-0 victory in the last meeting with Forest, although that fixture came 12 years ago.
Players to watch
James Ward-Prowse showed his importance to Southampton by netting a superb free-kick last time out at Fulham. The midfielder remains a major threat at set pieces and could be backed to find the net on Wednesday at 18/5 with William Hill.
Nottingham Forest may have struggled for goals on their travels but will be keen to capitalise on Southampton’s shaky backline. Taiwo Awoniyi often leads the line for Forest and is priced at 10/3 by bet365 to get on the score sheet on Wednesday.
Anything else catch the eye?
Neither defence has been convincing this season which means both teams could be backed to score at 7/8 with SBK. There have been over 3.5 goals in three of Southampton’s last four matches and a repeat is priced at 5/2 by Unibet while over 2.5 goals could also be considered at 7/8 by SBK.
Southampton and Nottingham Forest have a habit of making slow starts, so the second half could be tipped to produce more goals at 11/10 with Paddy Power. Both teams are also likely to score in the second half at 5/2 with bet365.
This English Premier League match between Southampton and Nottingham Forest will be played on Jan 4, 2023 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Southampton vs Nottingham Forest prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
I think the match would end draw 1-1