Verdict: Total goals under 2.5
Best odds: 19/20
Bookmaker: Unibet
Nottingham Forest are set to welcome Leeds United to the City Ground on Sunday, for what will be the 21st match of the Premier League campaign for the hosts, and the 20th for the visitors, as the two teams battle to keep as far away as possible from the relegation zone.
Nottingham Forest
Having returned to the top tier of English football for the first time in the 21st century, the European Cup winners from 1979 and 1980 signed 23 players before the season started, and added three more last month. It’s quite clear that they have no mind to return to the Championship for 2023/24, and they’ll do whatever it takes to stay up.
Given the woeful form of some of the Premier League regulars this term, that might prove easier than they would’ve thought, but there’s obviously no room for overconfidence. At the moment, Steve Cooper’s team sit 13th with 21 points, just four more than Bournemouth in the relegation zone, with four teams squeezed into the narrow space in between.
Forest started their current last-six run with a triumph over Wolverhampton Wanderers on penalties after the match ended in a 1-1 draw, securing a place in the semifinals of the Carabao Cup. A 2-0 league win over Leicester City and a 1-1 draw away to Bournemouth followed, but then those semifinals proved as far as they could go as Manchester United came and beat them 0-3 at the City Ground and 2-0 at Old Trafford. Still, reaching a semifinal of a cup in their first season back among the elite is quite a feat.
Team News
Cooper has quite an extensive list of injured players to work around. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson (hamstring), defenders Omar Richards (calf), Moussa Niakhate (hamstring) and Giulian Biancone (knee), midfielders Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring) and Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle), as well as striker Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), are all out.
Midfielders Ryan Yates and Jack Colback, and striker Chris Wood, have been ill recently, and it remains to be seen if they’re fit to play by Sunday.
Keylor Navas, the former Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper, joined the club on January 31st, and it will be interesting to see whether Cooper decides to throw him into the team straight away, or relies on Wayne Hennessey instead. In the back line, Scott McKenna is expected to pair up with Willy Boly, with Neco Williams and Renan Lodi on the flanks. In the absence of both Kouyate and Yates, Remo Freuler should be joined by Orel Mangala in the middle of the park, with Gustavo Scarpa playing in a more advanced ’10’ role. The absence of Awoniyi and Wood is a chance for Sam Surridge to try and make a difference upfront, flanked by Emmanuel Dennis and Brennan Johnson.
Leeds United
The season started woefully for Leeds and the future of manager Jesse Marsch at the club seemed in jeopardy for a while, but their performances improved significantly after receiving the boost given by the shock victory over Liverpool at Anfield at the end of October. Since then, their results, though not really spectacular, became respectable.
In their last six competitive matches, Leeds drew 2-2 at home against West Ham, drew 2-2 away to Cardiff City in the third round of the FA Cup, lost 2-1 away to Aston Villa, beat Cardiff in the rematch at home by 5-2, drew 0-0 at home against Brentford, and beat Accrington Stanley in the fourth round of the cup away by 1-3.
Interestingly enough, Leeds face Manchester United twice within four days next week, both contests within the Premier League, and given the form the 20-time English champions are currently in, it’s obvious Marsch’s men cannot afford a poor result against Nottingham Forest.
Sitting in 15th place with 18 points, Leeds are in fact one of the four teams mentioned above as separating Forest from the relegation zone, along with Leicester City (14th, 18 points), West Ham (16th, also 18) and Wolves (17th, 17).
Team News
Marsch won’t be able to call upon striker Rodrigo Moreno (ankle), midfielder Adam Forshaw (groin), winger Crysencio Summerville (ankle), and right-back Stuart Dallas (thigh), as well as centre-back Robin Koch who is serving a yellow-card suspension.
Centre-back Liam Cooper and midfielder Tyler Adams could be back after a knee injury and a knock, respectively.
Illan Meslier will be between the posts. With Cooper still fresh from injury and Koch suspended, Maximilian Wober is likely to pair up with Pascal Struijk at the back, with Luke Ayling on the right and Junior Firpo on the left. If Adams isn’t ready for 90 minutes, it’s likely that his place at the midfield base will be taken by newcomer Weston McKennie alongside Marc Roca, with Brenden Aaronson on one attacking flank, Luis Sinisterra on the other, and Jack Harrison playing centrally behind striker Patrick Bamford.
Conclusion
This should be a very interesting clash of two highly motivated teams, a difficult one for both sides. Expect plenty of fire on the pitch, but not too many chances or goals.
Verdict: Total goals under 2.5
Best odds: 19/20
Bookmaker: Unibet
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