Nottingham Forest will be looking to carry their recent good form into the FA Cup as they welcome Blackpool to the City Ground for a third round clash. With the League One side struggling on their recent travels, Forest will be confident of claiming the upper hand on Sunday.
Nottingham Forest head into Sunday’s clash off the back of a 2-1 victory over Manchester United in a Premier League fixture last weekend. They came to life after the break following a drab first half, with Nicolas Dominguez and Morgan Gibbs-White getting their goals.
Forest have fully embraced the new manager bounce as they have looked a different side since Nuno Espirito Santo took charge. The former Wolves and Tottenham gaffer has breathed new life into the team, leading them to back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
It is quite the turnaround for Nottingham Forest, who had gone seven matches without a win, suffering six defeats in that run. They have now won at Newcastle United and beaten Manchester United in their last two matches and will be looking to carry that form into the FA Cup.
While Nottingham Forest drew a bye into the third round of the FA Cup, Blackpool have played every round of the competition. They began with a 2-0 victory at Bromley before claiming a 3-0 victory over Forest Green Rovers in the previous round.
Blackpool will also head into Sunday’s clash fresh from a 2-0 victory over Lincoln City in a League One fixture on New Year’s Day. They were largely untroubled for much of the encounter with goals in each half from Oliver Casey and Chris Hamilton earning them the win.
The thing about Blackpool is that they often do their best work at Bloomfield Road and tend to struggle on their travels. They have lost four of their last five away matches, failing to score in the last two in that run.
How the bookies view it
The bookies have installed Nottingham Forest as overwhelming favourites with a home win priced at 2/5 with bet365. An unlikely victory for Blackpool is valued at 7/1 with BoyleSports while bet365 on offering odds of 4/1 for a draw.
Head to head
Nottingham Forest have a 16-14 advantage with 13 draws from 43 previous matches against Blackpool. However, the Seasiders knocked Forest out of the FA Cup at this stage last season after claiming a 4-1 victory at Bloomfield Road.
Players to watch
Chris Wood appears to be enjoying life under the new manager and has found the net four times in the last three matches. The striker will be the one to watch on Sunday and is priced at 6/5 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
After getting Nottingham Forest back to winning ways, Nuno Espirito Santo will be keen to tighten up at the back. Given Blackpool's goalscoring problems at the back, they will be targeting a shutout and with Murillo at centre-back, a clean sheet could be considered at 11/10 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
With Blackpool failing to score in their last two away matches, Nottingham Forest could be tipped to earn a win to nil at 7/5 with Unibet. Forest also have an exciting mix in attack and could be tipped in the -1 handicap market at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
Given Nottingham Forest’s attacking quality, they could be backed to score in both halves at 11/10 with Coral.
This FA Cup match between Nottingham Forest and Blackpool will be played on Jan 7, 2024 and kick off at 14:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Blackpool prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
