It is a clash of the strugglers as Nottingham Forest host Leicester City in a Premier League fixture on Saturday. Forest have done some good work at home lately and riding on the high of their progress in the League Cup, should have the edge over Leicester.
It has been a tricky return to the Premier League for Nottingham Forest who have been around the relegation zone for much of the season. However, they will head into Saturday’s clash on the high after reaching the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Performances like that have been scattered throughout the season for Nottingham Forest, who claimed a 1-0 victory at Southampton in their previous Premier League fixture. Steve Cooper’s men are now unbeaten in three of their last four league matches, claiming two wins in that run.
Home form was always going to be pivotal for Nottingham Forest in their survival quest and they have done some good work in front of their fans lately. They are unbeaten in their last seven home matches across all competitions, a run that includes victories over Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Crystal Palace.
Leicester City have been erratic all season and are just two points above the relegation zone. Their only victory in the last five matches across all competitions was a 1-0 FA Cup win over lower league side Gillingham.
The Foxes have lost four times in that run and head to Forest off the back of a 2-0 Carabao Cup defeat to Newcastle United on Tuesday. They were also beaten 1-0 at home by Fulham in their previous Premier League fixture.
Leicester City have plenty of problems at the moment with top scorer James Maddison and Patson Daka currently sidelined with injury and veteran striker Jamie Vardy struggling for goals. However, Brendan Rodgers’ men will head into Saturday’s clash with some positives having won three of their last four away matches in the Premier League.
How the bookies view it
The bookies appear to be split on this one with a win for Nottingham Forest priced at 9/5 with Betfred while a Leicester City victory is valued at 8/5 with bet365. A draw is set at odds of 5-2 with Unibet.
Head to head
Nottingham Forest have a 28-23 advantage with 16 draws from 67 previous matches against Leicester City. Although the Foxes ran out 4-0 winners in the reverse fixture in October, the last meeting at the City Ground was an FA Cup clash in February 2022 which ended 4-1 in favour of Forest.
Players to watch
Nottingham Forest often show flashes of defensive solidity with the duo of Willy Boly and Joe Worrall partnering in central defence. They kept clean sheets in the wins over Liverpool, Spurs and Crystal Palace and will be targeting a similar outcome on Saturday at 13/5 with William Hill.
At the other end of the pitch, Taiwo Awoniyi is their top scorer in the Premier League with four goals. The striker was on target in the win at Southampton and is priced at 13/5 by bet365 to find the net on Saturday.
Anything else catch the eye?
With Leicester City struggling in attack and Nottingham Forest showing flashes of defensive solidity, a low scoring contest can be expected on Saturday. BTTS NO can be considered at 23/20 with BetVictor.
Nottingham Forest have also seen under 2.5 goals in their last four home matches and a repeat is priced at 5/6 with BetVictor.
This English Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Leicester City will be played on Jan 14, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
