Tottenham v Nottingham Forest – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Spurs are winless in 13 league matches but have shown signs of life in the last week. Forest sit a point behind Tottenham as the clubs face off in a relegation battle.

Tottenham Form

Spurs are winless in 12 league matches with just one point in their last six EPL fixtures. A 2-0 loss to Man Utd came with ten men as they allowed 23 shots. Spurs lost 2-1 at home to Newcastle and were humbled 4-1 at Arsenal, with a 20-6 shot count to the Gunners.

A 2-1 loss at Fulham saw 2.28 xG conceded before losing 3-1 at home to Crystal Palace, again with ten men. Tottenham were pumped 5-2 at Atletico Madrid but have since shown improvement. They scored late to rescue a 1-1 draw at Liverpool and beat Atletico 3-2 at home in midweek to restore some pride.

Tottenham Team News

Spurs have plenty of long-term injuries. James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski and Mohamed Kudus are ruled out and Wilson Odobert will also play no part.

Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven have both completed domestic suspensions and will start. Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Udogie are back from injuries, but Rodrigo Bentancur is out.

Tottenham Motivation

Tottenham could take a huge step towards safety with a win. However, this is an absolute ‘must not lose’ fixture.

Coach Igor Tudor is expected to use a back three and try to be more solid. With some good impact subs to call upon, Spurs can win this game in the second half if they can keep things tight.

Nottingham Forest Form

Forest have taken just four points from their last seven league matches. A win in midweek ended a six-match winless streak. A 0-0 home draw vs Wolves came with 35 shots and saw Sean Dyche sacked. A 3-0 win at Fenerbahce under Vitor Perreira was followed by a 1-0 home loss to Liverpool in the 97^th minute.

Forest lost 2-1 at home to Fenerbahce and lost 2-1 at Brighton in the league. A fine comeback led to a 2-2 draw at Man City before losing 1-0 at home to Midtjylland in the Europa League first leg. They could only draw 0-0 at home to Fulham last weekend, but won 2-1 at Midtjylland in midweek and progressed to the quarter-finals on penalties.  

Nottingham Forest Team News

Chris Wood remains injured in attack and Willy Boly is absent in defence. Matz Sels is available in goal, but Stefan Ortega now looks like the number one.  

Coach Vítor Pereira rested numerous players in midweek. Some big hitters came on as substitutes but it’s clear that this match was the priority.

Nottingham Forest Motivation

Forest are outside the relegation zone, but they need something from this match.

A draw would be a decent result and would keep Spurs in the mix. They will try to win, but can’t afford to lose.  

Key Stats

• Tottenham are winless in 12 league matches (4 losses in the last 5)
• Tottenham have seen Both Teams Scoring in 8 of their last 9 matches
• Spurs’ Richarlison has scored in 2 of his last 3 EPL matches
• Nottingham Forest have lost 5 of their last 8 away league matches
• Nottingham Forest have won their last 3 matches vs Tottenham

Verdict

A relegation battle awaits on Sunday. Spurs may have turned a corner and can win this match.

Featured Bet: Tottenham win, both teams to score and Richarlison to score anytime at 6.25

Best Bet: Tottenham win at 2.26