A potentially pivotal showdown in the fight for Premier League survival takes place on Sunday afternoon as Everton face Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park.
The Toffees are hovering just two points above the relegation zone, while Forest are just one point and one place above the bottom three.
Sean Dyche’s side go into this crunch clash off the back of a harrowing 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Chelsea on Monday night.
The Everton faithful will therefore be demanding a response to their dismal showing at Stamford Bridge when Nottingham Forest come to town.
The Tricky Trees continue to struggle to convert draws into victories, as was the case when they were held to a 2-2 stalemate at home to Wolves last Saturday.
That being said, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side have lost just one of their last five Premier League matches, so they will be quietly confident about moving one step closer to survival when they make the trip to Merseyside this weekend.
Outright Betting
Everton are 11/10 favourites on Ladbrokes to earn what would be just their fifth Premier League home win of the season.
Nottingham Forest, who are without a top-flight road success since Boxing Day, are the 13/5 (William Hill) underdogs while a point apiece at Goodison Park pays out at 27/10 (UniBet).
Betting Angles
With a tense and tight affair expected at Goodison Park on Sunday, I'm going to bypass the 1×2 market and instead back Nottingham Forest's Neco William's to commit two or more fouls at 9/5 (PaddyPower).
Granted, the Tricky Trees right-back is averaging a shade under one foul per-game in the Premier League this season, however the Welshman has started only 16 times in the top-flight this term to date.
What's more, upon closer inspection there has been a marked increase in William's foul per-game tally in recent months, with the Forest defender falling foul of the referee in 10 of his last 12 starts.
In fact, Williams has tackled himself into trouble at least twice in six of those 12 outings, including four of his last five, so there is plenty of scope for a repeat at Goodison Park this weekend.
The former Liverpool man will no doubt be fired up and he should be kept busy as he is likely to come up in direct opposition to Dwight McNeil, who is drawing in the region of one foul per 90 in the Premier League this season.
Therefore, with all things considered, backing Williams to commit a minimum of two fouls during this huge relegation six-pointer looks a great value option at 9/5 on PaddyPower.
Given how crucial this game could be in terms of both teams respective survival hopes, the even-money (1/1) on Bet 365 about over four cards being flashed by referee Chris Kavanagh also merits consideration.
Both sides are averaging over two yellows per-game in the Premier League this season and there is a good chance tempers could boil over in this basement battle.
This English Premier League match between Everton and Nottingham Forest will be played on Apr 21, 2024 and kick off at 13:30. Check below for our tipsters best Everton vs Nottingham Forest prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
