In their first game of the 2024-25 Premier League season, Nottingham Forest face Bournemouth at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.
The Tricky Trees endured a difficult time of it both on and off the park last term, as they were sanctioned with a mid-season points deduction.
Consequently, Forest dropped into the bottom three of the Premier League table, though they still did enough to beat the drop in the end with a five point buffer.
Nuno Espirito Santo and the Forest faithful will be hoping for a more comfortable season this time around and they will be aiming to hit the ground running with a win over Bournemouth this weekend .
Following a slow start to the campaign, there was a lot to like about how the Cherries ended last season under Andoni Iraola.
After placing 12th last season, Bournemouth will be bidding to break into the top half of the table this time around, though that could be a big ask following Dominic Solanke’s move to Tottenham Hotspur.
How the bookies view it: Tight contest anticipated
The bookies are struggling to separate the pair, with Nottingham Forest narrow favourites at 8/5 with William Hill.
Bournemouth go into their maiden Premier League match of the season as marginal 7/4 (Betfred) outsiders while an all square affair at the City Ground can be backed at 13/5 (William Hill).
Given that Over 2.5 Goals would have paid out in 27 of Bournemouth's 38 league games last season, supporting a repeat here is a more appealing angle of attack at 4/5 (Bet 365).
Head to head: Cherries on top
Bournemouth have avoided defeat in each of their last eight meetings with Nottingham Forest. The Cherries emerged victorious from this venue with a thrilling 3-2 win last season, while the return match at the Vitality Stadium ended one apiece.
Players to watch: Wood to deliver the goods?
Chris Wood enjoyed a quietly impressive season for Nottingham Forest last term, notching up 14 goals in 31 Premier League appearances. The New Zealand ace is 2/1 (Bet 365) for an anytime strike on Saturday.
Antoine Semenyo was Bournemouth's second top scorer (8) across all competitions last season and the Ghanaian forward is as big as 3/1 (Bet 365) to grab a goal at the City Ground.
Predicted line-ups
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been pretty active during the summer transfer window, with new recruits Elliot Anderson and Nikola Milenkovic expected to be named in the starting line-up on Saturday.
Bournemouth will be without midfielder Tyler Adams for their opening match of the season as the USA international is currently ruled out with a foot injury.
Nottingham Forest: Sels; Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Aina; Sangaré, Yates; Anderson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Bournemouth: Neto; Smith, Senesi, Zabarnyi, Kerkez; Scott, Christie; Semenyo, Billing, Kluivert; Sinisterra
Anything else catch the eye?
Given that Michael Oliver will take charge of this contest, opposing cards in some form or another could be worth consideration on Saturday.
The Ashington-born whistler is renowned for his leniency when it comes to taking out his notebook, evidenced by the fact that he handed out a combined total of six cards across his four Euro 2024 assignments this summer.
With that in mind, under two first-half match cards looks worthy of interest here at 5/6 with Bet 365,
This English Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth will be played on Aug 17, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
