West Ham United are in desperate need of an upturn in results as they host Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Saturday. Forest have a small injury crisis and given their poor record on the road; the Hammers will fancy their chances.
West Ham are coming off a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham Hotspur in their previous Premier League fixture. They were second best to Spurs throughout the encounter and looked off colour in attack, finishing with just one attempt on target.
The result means West Ham have now slipped into the relegation zone, although they are just one point from safety. A small positive is that it was their first defeat in five matches across all competitions, with an FA Cup victory at Derby County and a Premier League win over Everton among their results in that run.
After the game at Spurs, Manager David Moyes said there were things to build on and demanded some fight from his players. One of the things that can be built on is their recent home record as they are unbeaten in their last two matches at the London Stadium.
Nottingham Forest travel to the London Stadium off the back of a 1-1 home draw with Manchester City in their previous Premier League fixture. They fell behind in the first half and rode their luck a few times before Chris Wood struck the equaliser late in the contest.
While the Citizens were uncharacteristically wasteful in front of goal, Nottingham Forest will be pleased to have earned a point that moves them five clear of the relegation zone. However, Steve Cooper’s men now appear to have an injury crisis with as many as 11 first team players rated as doubtful for the trip to West Ham.
A small problem for Nottingham Forest is their poor record on the road as they have claimed just one away win all season. Not only are they poor on the road, some of their heaviest defeats have come away from home having lost 6-0 at Manchester City, 4-0 at Leicester City and 5-0 at Arsenal.
How the bookies view it
Despite their struggles, West Ham are still considered overwhelming favourites among the bookies with a home win priced at 9/11 with SBK. A victory for Nottingham Forest is valued at 41/10 by SBK while a draw is set at odds of 5-2 by Unibet.
Head to head
Nottingham Forest have a 28-26 advantage with 15 draws from 69 previous matches with West Ham. Forest also claimed a 1-0 victory in the reverse fixture back in August.
Players to watch
Given West Ham’s attacking display at Tottenham, Danny Ings could be handed his first start since joining in January. The striker could be worth keeping an eye on to score anytime at 21/10 with bet365.
Brennan Johnson has been the man in form for Nottingham Forest in recent weeks and has scored three goals in his last five Premier League matches. The forward could be backed to find the net on Sunday at 5/1 with bet365.
Anything else catch the eye?
West Ham and Nottingham Forest have shown little defensive solidity this season, so both teams could be backed to score at 21/20 with Unibet. With the Hammers expected to come out on top, over 2.5 goals can also be considered at 22/19 with SBK.
There have been some late showings in Nottingham Forest’s recent matches, so the second half can be tipped to produce the most goals at 11/10 with Paddy Power.
This English Premier League match between West Ham United and Nottingham Forest will be played on Feb 25, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best West Ham United vs Nottingham Forest prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
