Fresh from their points deduction, Nottingham Forest begin their quest for survival as they battle Crystal Palace in a Premier League fixture on Saturday. Neither team is playing at their best at the moment and they look set to serve up a stalemate here.
It has been a difficult few weeks for Nottingham Forest, who were docked four points for breaching the Premier League’s PSR rules. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have now dropped into the bottom three and must now begin their fight for survival.
Even before their points deduction, things had been rough for Nottingham Forest, who have picked up just one win from their last nine Premier League matches. They did play out a 1-1 draw at Luton Town in their previous fixture with Chris Wood’s first half effort cancelled out one minute from time.
Home form is likely to be pivotal in any battle for survival and despite their erratic showings, Nottingham Forest still have a few positive results to build on. A 2-1 victory over Manchester United and a 2-0 win over West Ham are among their recent results at the City Ground.
Crystal Palace are still attempting to find their rhythm under manager Oliver Glasner, who has just one win under his belt since replacing Roy Hodgson. They will be desperate to keep their head above water, sitting just eight points above the bottom three.
The Eagles travel to the City Ground off the back of a 1-1 draw with Luton Town last time out in the Premier League. Jean-Philippe Mateta opened the scoring early in the first half and they held on for long periods before conceding the equaliser deep into added time.
A major problem for Crystal Palace is a poor record on their travels as they are winless in their last eight Premier League away fixtures. However, there are a few results in that run that could give them confidence like the 2-2 draw at Manchester City and the 1-1 scoreline at Everton.
How the bookies view it
Nottingham Forest have the upper hand among the bookies and are priced at 6/5 by Unibet to claim the win. A victory for Crystal Palace is valued at 9/4 with Betfred while William Hill is offering odds of 12/5 for a draw.
Head to head
Nottingham Forest have a 20-11 advantage with 15 draws from 46 previous matches against Crystal Palace. Both teams played out a 0-0 draw in the reverse fixture, although Forest have won the last two meetings at the City Ground.
Players to watch
Chris Wood is the leading scorer for Nottingham Forest with his effort last time out taking his tally to nine Premier League goals. The striker is priced at 5/2 by Unibet to get on the score sheet on Saturday.
Jean-Philippe Mateta has a knack for scoring vital goals and will be the one to watch for Crystal Palace. The striker has found the net in two of the last three matches and is priced at 10/3 by bet365 to maintain his scoring run.
Anything else catch the eye?
Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace have players that can find their way to goal and both teams could be backed to score at 10/11 with bet365. There have been over 3.5 goals in three of Palace’s last four away matches and a repeat is priced at 3/1 with bet365 while over 2.5 goals is valued at 23/20 by Coral.
There have been more goals after the break in three of Crystal Palace’s last four away matches and a similar pattern is priced at 6/5 by Paddy Power.
This English Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace will be played on Mar 30, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Crystal Palace prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
