The Matchday 18 Premier League clash between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham will take place on December 26 at the City Ground Stadium. Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Craig Pawson (England)
Matches – 10 (Premier League, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 41;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.1;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 23;
Penalties – 20%.
Predicted lineups for Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Mats Sels – Ola Aina, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Neco Williams – Elliot Anderson, Morato – Callum Hudson-Odoi, Morgan Gibbs-White, Anthony Elanga – Chris Wood.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1): Fraser Forster – Djed Spence, Archie Gray, Radu Dragusin, Pedro Porro – Pape Sarr, Yves Bissouma – Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Son Heung-min – Dominic Solanke.
Each team's lineup is based on their previous match in this tournament.
Nottingham Forest
The Nottingham side has won three consecutive league matches for the second time this season. They achieved victories at home against Aston Villa (2-1) and away against Manchester United (3-2) and Brentford (2-0). Additionally, the club boasts a 10-match uncompromising streak in the Premier League (7 wins and 3 losses). Nuno Espirito Santo's men continue to hold onto 4th place in the table, trailing second place by just four points.
Midfielder Nicolas Dominguez will miss the match due to an accumulation of yellow cards, while midfielder Ibrahim Sangare is sidelined with an injury.
- At least three goals have been scored in 7 of Nottingham Forest's last 9 league matches.
- The number "1" has appeared in the final score in 7 of the club's last 8 home Premier League games.
- Nottingham has not trailed at halftime in nine consecutive home matches in the Premier League (3 wins and 6 draws).
Tottenham
The London side reclaimed the title of the league's most prolific team with 39 goals, despite a home loss to Liverpool with a tennis-like scoreline of 3-6. The two previous Premier League matches also ended interestingly – a win over Southampton (5-0) and a loss to Chelsea (3-4). Notably, Tottenham has only one win in their last five Premier League matches (1 draw and 3 losses). The club is currently 11th in the league table, with European competition spots just five points away.
Injuries have hit the club hard: defenders Cristian Romero, Mickey van de Ven, and Ben Davies, forwards Richarlison, Wilson Odobert, and Mikey Moore, as well as goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, are all sidelined.
- At least three goals have been scored in 10 of Tottenham's last 13 Premier League games.
- One of the teams failed to score in 5 of the last 6 away matches for the Londoners in the league.
- In 12 of the club's previous away Premier League games, one of the teams won with a clean sheet in the first half.
Nottingham Forest vs. Tottenham: Match Prediction
In this century, the opponents have met just four times in the Premier League, with the Londoners winning all by a two-goal margin. This season, the situation is different – Nottingham is challenging for Champions League spots, while Tottenham is in the lower half of the table. Therefore, I expect the hosts to be less hospitable than in the previous two Premier League seasons, and if they don't win, they will aim to score as many goals as possible against their opponent. Especially since the Londoners do not possess an impenetrable defense, conceding an average of 1.5 goals per game, and several defenders are injured.
Despite Nottingham Forest's current form, I'm hesitant to bet on them, as the club has performed better away this season. At home, they lost to Fulham and Newcastle, and dropped points against Bournemouth and Wolverhampton. Meanwhile, Tottenham's players also lack consistency, alternating wins and losses away. It's more promising to focus on the scoring potential, especially since Tottenham's matches this season average 3.76 goals (only Wolverhampton has a higher average at 3.94). Additionally, in 17 of Tottenham's Premier League 2024/25 matches, fewer than three goals have been scored only five times.
My prediction – Total over 3 goals
