Nottingham Forest vs Wolves: Betting tips and analysis

(Featured image: Alamy Images)

Written by: Brad Walker

The recent form of Nottingham Forest and Wolves couldn't be more different as the pair prepare to trade blows at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon.

Forest are unbeaten in their last three in the Premier League while their West Midlands counterparts have lost five on the trot.

Odds Now's Brad Walker runs you through all of the key details ahead of an intriguing match-up in Nottingham this weekend.

Tale of the tape

Nottingham Forest

After being hampered by a two-point deduction last term, Nuno Espirito Santo and his Forest side have certainly been pulling up trees during the early weeks of this campaign.

They were minutes away from an opening day victory at home to Bournemouth before a late Antoine Semenyo equaliser denied them all three points two weeks ago. Nevertheless, Santo's men bounced back to secure a well-earned win at Southampton last time out, taking their total points tally to four from a possible six so far.

Another win against the Portuguese native's former club this weekend would make for a near-perfect start to a campaign in which the Forest faithful will be hoping to see their team push towards the mid-table places after flirting with relegation over the previous two seasons.

After winning just five home fixtures in 2023-24, laying down their roots at the City Ground will be crucial if they are to blossom in front of their home fans this time around. Alright, that's enough tree puns for one day.

Morgan Gibbs-White celebrates scoring the winner for Forest vs Southampton last weekend. (Photo credit: Alamy Images)

Wolves

Gary O'Neil's side are in free-fall. The former Bournemouth manager may have impressed in his first season at Molineux but results need to change fast if he is to avoid becoming the first managerial casualty of the season.

Not only have Wolves lost five consecutive Premier League matches, but O'Neil's men have also recorded just one win in their last 12. The departures of Max Kilman and Pedro Neto won't have helped matters but they can only be hid behind for so long before greater questions are asked by those further up the club's hierarchy.

Conceding six goals in a single home game offers little solace for O'Neil and co given the wider circumstances, though some clarity should be sought regarding the nature of their 6-2 loss to Chelsea last weekend. Remarkably, Wolves finished the game with a higher xG tally (2.11) than the Londoners (1.65), yet still found themselves on the losing side come the final whistle.

The likes of Matheus Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan are more than capable of finding the back of the net, while the Midlanders will have been buoyed by new forward Jorgen Strand Larsen scoring his first goal for the club last time out.

Instead, the main question centres on whether they're able to plug the ever-growing gaps at the back and alter the trajectory of what has been a bleak start to the new season.

Nottingham Forest vs Wolves: Betting tips and predictions

Forest's recent record against Wolves is far from convincing, particularly at the City Ground. Perhaps this fixture presents O'Neil and co with the perfect opportunity to turn their form around?

Possibly, but I'm not so sure. Wolves have been abysmal defensively in recent times and are without a single clean sheet since a 1-0 home win over Sheffield United on February 25th. Their last away clean sheet stretches back even further, all the way to January of this year, when they played out a 0-0 draw at Brighton.

Compare those with the efforts of Forest, who would be heading into this game on the back of consecutive clean sheets if not for Semenyo's late leveller on the opening weekend. The home side also failed to score at the City Ground just four times last season, averaging 1.42 goals scored on their own patch.

Sure, recent meetings between the pair suggest there can only be one winner. But, to throw a football cliche your way, records are there to be broken. And this Wolves side appear to be one on the verge of a crisis, if they're not there already.