Nottingham Forest-Newcastle is a match for the 28th day of the Premier League and is played on Friday at 21:00: TV, predictions
Nottingham Forest are among the large group of teams in the fight to stay in the relegation zone, and after their 3-1 defeat to Tottenham on Saturday, they are now barely two points off the bottom of the table. Some have done worse so far, but Steve Cooper’s men, like many others, only need the slightest misstep to slip back into the red zone.
Since the victory in the direct clash with Leeds a month and a half ago, the Tricky Trees have alternated between a draw and a defeat, losing all their away games and confirming their home vocation. With only six points away from the City Ground, Nottingham Forest are the team that has collected the least away from home, alongside West Ham and Leeds. Compared to the latter two, however, the red and whites have scored with the dropper, scoring a paltry four goals. Everything changes when Forest play in front of their home crowd: Lingard and his team-mates are trying to build salvation, if it is to come at all, at home, where they have scored 20 of their 26 points. Suffice it to say that the last home defeat in the league was last September. However, an extra effort will be needed to maintain the category, considering that in this Premier League there is no real mattress team.
Away the Magpies haven’t won since December
For Cooper and his men on the 28th day of the season, the last before the national break, there is a very difficult challenge against Newcastle.
Lascelles
The Magpies have just broken a five-game winless streak that had begun to worry their coach Eddie Howe. Against Wolverhampton the three points were indispensable to get going again and this time the Magpies did not disappoint. Leading with Isak in the first half, they immediately reacted after conceding the equaliser twenty minutes from the end, scoring the decisive goal with Almiron. Fourth-placed Tottenham are still four points ahead but Newcastle have two games to make up against Spurs and could potentially be ahead. Like Nottingham Forest, Howe’s men do not shine on the road: away from home they have yet to win in 2023, with the exception of the League Cup semi-final with Southampton.
The Prediction
City Ground is a place where important teams have fallen this year, proving to be a real fortress for Nottingham Forest. Newcastle’s victory, despite having given important signals in the last round, is not a foregone conclusion. Instead, a low-scoring game is conceivable, with one of the two teams likely to run out of goals.
The likely line-ups for Nottingham Forest-Newcastle
- NOTTINGHAM FOREST (4-3-2-1): Navas; Aurier, Worrall, Felipe, Renan Lodi; Yates, Shelvey, Freuler; Lingard, Gibbs-White; Dennis.
- NEWCASTLE (4-3-3): Pope; Trippier, Botman, Schar, Burn; S. Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, Willock; Almiron, Isak, Saint-Maximin.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 0-1
