SOUTHAMPTON have what could be a last chance saloon shot for them on Monday night when they travel to relegation zone strugglers Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
And surely anything but a win would be curtains for the Saints,
Going into the weekend fixtures Southampton are six points adrift from safety with four games left and with a desperate goal difference too.
And with their last two games against in-form Brighton and Liverpool, a win for the hosts here would surely spell the end.
Forest are hardly in a great position themselves They are locked in a ferocious battle for survival going into the weekend. They are one of three teams on the same points with Leicester City and Leeds United, although Forest's goal difference is poor.
Saints have won one game since the middle of February and it's not hard to see why they are in this position. One point from their last six games tells its own sorry story too and even then they blew a 3-1 lead to draw at Arsenal.
Forest's form isn't much better. They have won just once in their last six games and lost five times. And they conceded two goals in their last eight minutes at Brentford last week which must have been a severe kick in the groin.
How the bookies view it
Nottingham Forest are firm favourites here and they can be backed at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
Southampton are 12/5 with William Hill and the draw is 13/5 with bet365.
Recent head to heads
Forest won at St Mary's 1-0 at the start of the year this season.
This will be Saints' first visit to the City Ground for 11 years and for what it's worth they won 3-0 on their last visit to Nottinghamshire.
Players to watch
Brazilian midfielder Danilo is a goal threat for Forest as he has proved by netting in his last two games, He is 15/2 to score anytime with bet365.
Scotland international Stuart Armstrong has always had an eye for a goal and he netted last week at Newcastle United in Southampton's 3-1 defeat. The former Celtic star is 8/1 to score anytimr with UniBet.
Anything else catch the eye?
Forest look the clear and obvious choice here on home form alone. They are actually mid-table on home form and beating Brighton at the City Ground in their last match shows what they can do.
They look to be able to raise their game at home especially and face a Saints side whose fight has almost been extinguished.
With both teams knowing a win is imperative, there could be goals here – there have been ten in Southampton's last two away games and 12 in Forest's last three games.
Go for over 2.5 goals with Betfred at 11/10.
This English Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Southampton will be played on May 8, 2023 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Nottingham Forest vs Southampton prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
