Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Betting Tips & Odds

I can’t see either side pulling clear in this one.

Crystal Palace welcome Nottingham Forest to Selhurst Park in the Premier League at 2am on Monday, New Zealand time. It’s Oliver Glasner’s first trip back since he swapped Palace for Forest in the summer, and only a point separates the two sides in the bottom half of the table.

In this Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest preview, I go through form and team news for both sides. Recent history points me towards a correct-score punt paying north of $6.

If you’ve got a free bet from one of the free sports bet promotions going around, this is the game I’d use it on.

Crystal Palace

Their defending worries me more than anything else about Palace right now.

They’ve let in 11 goals in five league games and lost both home matches. Manchester City scored four at Selhurst Park on 28 August, and Ipswich Town won 3-2 there on 12 September with a late winner after Palace went down to 10 men.

Crosses caused most of the damage against Ipswich. That’s a worry with Forest’s right side in decent form.

It isn’t all grim. Palace won 3-2 at Fulham on 5 September, with Tyrick Mitchell scoring twice from left wing-back, and later ground out a 0-0 at Leeds United, their first clean sheet of the season.

I still wouldn’t trust them to protect a lead, and for me that’s the starting point for any football betting tips on this game.

Team News: Disasi is suspended and Riad is out. Henderson, Tomiyasu and Khalaili are doubts.

Predicted Lineup: Benitez; Ahanor, Richards, Canvot; Mingueza, Timber, Wharton, Mitchell; Kamada, Pino; Strand Larsen.

Nottingham Forest

Forest on the road look like a different team to Forest at home.

They haven’t scored in three home league games. The 1-0 loss to Coventry City on 19 September was a strange one, with Forest dominating the ball and the shot count. Very little of it tested the Coventry goalkeeper, and Jay Dasilva’s second-half goal won it for the visitors.

Away from the City Ground, they’ve drawn 2-2 at Liverpool and won 2-1 at Aston Villa. Liam Delap scored from outside the box within a minute of the restart at Villa Park on 12 September, before Igor Jesus stabbed in the 88th-minute winner.

Daniel Munoz and Morgan Gibbs-White gave Villa all sorts of trouble down the right that day. Gibbs-White flicked on a Munoz cross for the winner, and this is Munoz’s first game back at Selhurst Park since he left Palace.

Team News: Milenkovic and Savona are doubts.

Predicted Lineup: Sels; Cunha, Diomande, Murillo; Munoz, Schlager, McAtee, Williams; Ndoye, Gibbs-White; Delap.

• Palace haven’t beaten Forest in 12 meetings in the Premier League.
• Palace have conceded two or more goals in four of their five league games.
• Palace’s league games have averaged 3.4 goals this season.
• Forest’s league games have averaged 1.8 goals this season.
• Forest have conceded in four of their five league games.

I’m going with a draw.

It feels like the lazy pick, I know. But these two have a habit of cancelling each other out, and very little from the first five games gives me a reason to look elsewhere.

Goals are harder to call. Palace’s games have been wide open while Forest’s have been the opposite, and I think this ends up somewhere in between. I’d expect both teams to score, because Palace are too leaky to shut Forest out and Forest’s attack looks sharper with space to run into.

What I can’t get a read on is the atmosphere. Glasner won Palace their first European trophy in May, and Selhurst Park will have plenty to say about his return. I don’t know if that helps Palace or just gets them flustered.

Gut feel says 1-1. If you’d rather go safer, BTTS at $1.75 does the job, but I’m chasing the bigger price.

Correct Score 1-1 @ $6.50

It’s a punt, so stake accordingly.

The last three meetings between these two all finished 1-1, most recently at the City Ground on 1 February. Gibbs-White scored early that day and Ismaila Sarr equalised from the spot just before half-time.

Forest have found the net in both of their away league games this season, and Palace have just one clean sheet. On the other side, Forest haven’t conceded more than two in any league game.

I’m happy to have a small go at $6.50 with the best new betting sites in NZ.