Nottingham Forest vs Wolves: Betting Odds & Prediction
(Featured image: Alamy Images)
This weekend relegation-lingering Nottingham Forest host Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Saturday three o’clock kick off. Forest will be looking to better the 1-1 draw from the reverse fixture earlier this season in their bid to maintain their Premier League spot.
Recent Form
Nottingham Forest
The East Midland side currently sit in 17th place on 25 points and level with relegation rivals Luton Town. After a recent spark of good form on home turf, they will be looking to increase their chances of survival on Saturday. Their past five home games read two wins, a draw and two losses, with their two defeats coming against Liverpool and Newcastle respectively.
When playing at the City Ground, their expected goal (xG) tally averages at 1.44 per game. Forest have also scored eight goals in their last five home outings, and have scored two or more goals in 56% of their home fixtures this season overall.
Forest are likely to head into Saturdays match with a relatively unchanged squad from last Sunday’s 3-1 loss at Tottenham. Taiwo Awoniyi is expected to undergo a scan this week off the back of an injury he picked up in training last month, however it is unlikely that he will feature this weekend. Arsenal loanee Nuno Tavares is also expected to miss Saturday’s game.
Wolves
Gary O'Neil's side have raised eyebrows with their overall performance this season and find themselves in tenth heading into the match. They have struggled for form in recent weeks though, registering just one win in their last five games, but are still in contention to secure European football next season.
The West Midlands side’s away form has been average. They have won five and lost eight on the road, averaging 1.31 goals per game. This is slightly higher than their projected xG of 1.15.
When defending on the road the stats are no better; Wolves have an XG of 1.59 to concede and have managed to let in 26 goals this season when away, averaging a worrying 1.59 goals conceded.
Wanderers’ fans will be happy to know that Hee-Chan Hwang could be in with a chance of making the squad this weekend. Hwang has made a great impact this season with ten goals in 22 games. The Algerian Rayan Ait-Nouri came off last weekend after a knock to the calf, and O’Neil made it known that they didn’t want to risk the defender, in hopes that he’ll be fit for this weekend.
Since arriving in January 2023, Joao Gomes has been a midfield revelation for @Wolves 🐺@Tim_Vickery tells the story of how the Brazilian became a Premier League star 🌟
— Premier League (@premierleague) April 11, 2024
Prediction
Forests home form of late has been impressive and with relegation potential looming, OddsNow can see the home side starting fast and looking to break down their opponents early. Combined with Wolves' poor defensive record away from home, OddsNow expect a high-scoring encounter at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.