Nottingham Forest are set to take on Tottenham on Boxing Day with the hosts looking to continue their sensational Premier League season.
Forest were tipped for relegation at the start of the campaign but after 17 matches, they are comfortably inside the league's top four and are the team that nobody wants to face.
Spurs, meanwhile, are struggling for form and find themselves in 11th position. If results don't pick up soon, then Ange Postecoglou's job will be at serious risk.
How the bookies view it: Too close to call
At the start of the season, Spurs would have come into this match as the red-hot favourites but as it happens, it's the hosts who the bookies are leaning towards on Thursday. BoyleSports have priced a Nottingham Forest win at 13/10 while a win for Tottenham has been priced at 7/4. The draw, which wouldn't be a bad result for either team, has been priced at 13/5.
Recent head-to-head: Advantage Tottenham
Despite the form guide being with the Forest, the recent head-to-head is very much with the visitors which should give them some confidence ahead of kick-off. Spurs have won six of their last seven matches against Forest with the Reds' only recent win coming in a League Cup clash in 2022. Their last league triumph over Spurs came in 1997.
Players to watch: Aina vs Son
The battle down Tottenham's right-hand side between Son Heung-Min and Ola Aina could go a long way to determining the winner on Thursday afternoon and if form this season is anything to go by, then Nottingham Forest could be in for yet another memorable day.
As a right-wing back, Aina has been sublime for Forest all season and his form has resulted in links to some of the biggest clubs in Serie A. The Nigerian is solid from a defensive point of view but his attacking precision and power makes him stand out.
Son Heung-Min, meanwhile, is having one of his quietest-ever seasons in a Tottenham shirt. At the age of 32, his powers are perhaps waiting and he has found the back of the net just five times in the Premier League this season.
Predicted line-ups
Ange Postecoglou may have mentioned a few times that he has a long injury list and the Australian is without three of his first choice back five for the trip to Nottingham. In better news, Rodrigo Bentancur is available again after serving a suspension. Nottingham Forest are without Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare due to injury and Nicolas Dominguez due to suspension.
Nottingham Forest: Sels – Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato – Aina, Gibbs-White, Anderson, Williams – Hundson-Odoi, Elanga, Wood
Tottenham: Forster – Porro, Dragusin, Gray, Spence – Bissouma, Bentancur, Maddison – Kulusevski, Solanke, Son
Anything else catch the eye?
Tottenham have been involved in several high-scoring matches in recent times and with Postecoglou doubling down on his approach, another one is on the cards on Thursday. A total of 21 goals have been scored across Spurs' last three matches at an average of seven goals per match. Over 3.5 goals to be scored has been priced at 23/20 by BoyleSports.
This English Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham will be played on Dec 26, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
