Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham

The City Ground 14 December - 14:00

Nottingham

Tottenham

Recommended tip Win for Nottingham Forest

1: 2.52 X: 3.30 2: 2.80

1: 2.60 X: 3.25 2: 2.75

1: 2.50 X: 3.30 2: 2.88

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Come Sunday at the City Ground it promises to be a rollicking affair as Nottingham Forest take on Tottenham — a fixture that could leave one side dancing in December and the other nervously checking the relegation picture. This is the kind of domestic clash that has it all: fine margins, a feisty manager in Sean Dyche, and a Tottenham side desperate to steady the ship under Thomas Frank. The crowd will be up for it and so should the bookmakers.

Form is a talking point: Forest have been solid at home under Dyche, picking up crucial points and making the City Ground a proper fortress, while Tottenham’s away form has been patchy and injury-hit. There’s history too — last season Forest completed the double — and you can bet that will be in the back of Spurs’ minds. Expect raw physicality, set-piece scraps and a game of tactical chess between grit and flair.

Whatever your approach to matchday staking, this preview serves up clear Tips and Predictions with a healthy dose of punditry and common sense. If you’re shopping market lines, have a look at our round-up of football betting sites for context and broader pricing on the markets — it’s wise to compare before laying anything down.

Odds and Predictions

The pre-match odds suggest a tightly poised contest. Bookies (Ladbrokes) currently show Forest at 6/4 (2.50) for the win, the draw at 23/10 (3.30) and Spurs 7/4 (2.75). Those numbers translate to roughly a 40% chance for the home side, 30.3% for a stalemate and 36.4% for an away victory. In plain English: the market thinks this is too close to call, but leans ever so slightly towards the hosts.

As a pundit I’ll say this — the odds reflect form and injuries. Tottenham’s long absentee list has shaved value off their price and Forest’s physical approach and favourable City Ground record give them an attractive profile at 2.50. My Predictions? I’m looking at a low-scoring, cagey affair and I’d be tempted by Forest in a 1-0 correct score market. For those wanting a bit more safety, a draw or narrow home win covers the bases nicely.

Market movement will be worth watching. If Tottenham supporters return in numbers or several injured stars are confirmed fit, expect the prices to shift. Likewise, any late team news from Dyche could lengthen Spurs. Use the odds as a guide but not gospel — smart punters account for nuance and shop for value.

Comparison and Statistics

Head-to-head (H2H) history is a mixed bag. Forest completed the double over Spurs last season, but prior to that Tottenham had a run of three straight wins. That kind of ebb and flow tells you these encounters rarely produce routs; they produce tight, competitive games. The recent H2H gives Forest psychological edge — they know they can get under Spurs’ skin.

Looking at form tables, Nottingham Forest have been tougher to beat at the City Ground, taking 10 points from a possible 15 there in all competitions under Dyche. Their recent league pattern shows only one side scoring in each of their last four Premier League outings — a stat that screams cagey, low-scoring matches.

Spurs, meanwhile, have been inconsistent: just one win in their last six league games tells you goalscoring has dried up or been misfiring at key moments. Defensively they can be brittle without key personnel which plays into Forest’s hands; set plays and physical duels will be decisive. Overall the stats nudge this towards a narrow home edge or a tight draw.

Expected Line-ups

Dyche tends to pick pragmatic, hard-working XIs and that will likely be the case here. Expect goalkeeper Matz Sels to return between the sticks, flanked by a defence marshalled by Antonio Silva or Milenkovic alongside Murillo, and full-backs tasked with denying Spurs’ wide speed. Midfield should be energetic: Sangare and Anderson offering ballast while Gibbs-White pulls the strings and Hutchinson covers acres.

Forest predicted XI (likely): Sels (GK), Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Anderson, Sangare, Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Jesus. Dyche may be without Ryan Yates, Chris Wood, Ola Aina and Angus Gunn, with Taiwo Awoniyi a late fitness call — any of those absentees would tweak approach and blunt attacking potency.

Spurs will field a side picked more from necessity than choice given the injury list. Expect a back four with Van de Ven and Romero central, Porro and Spence as full-backs, and Bentancur alongside Gray in midfield to try to stem Forest’s engine-room. Up front, Kolo Muani and Richarlison will be asked to lead the line with Simons in support.

Tottenham predicted XI (likely): Vicario (GK), Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Spence, Gray, Bentancur, Kudus, Simons, Kolo Muani, Richarlison. The absence of Maddison, Kulusevski and others forces Frank into a pragmatic set-up; a compact midfield and quick transitions will be their hope.

How Will the Season Pan Out

This clash carries weight beyond three points. A win for Forest would be massive: it could lift them clear of immediate danger and give the Dyche era some breathing space. Conversely, a Spurs victory would inject much-needed momentum into a side still chasing top-four aspirations — as much about confidence as about league math.

Forest’s season, if they can make the City Ground a consistent fortress, looks survivable. Dyche’s system is proving to be harder to break down and the January window could be used to add a finisher if Awoniyi isn’t fit. For Tottenham, the campaign will hinge on injury returns: get a spine of Maddison and Kulusevski back and they’re pushing for Europe; stay depleted and the top-six chase gets trickier.

My bottom-line Predictions and Tips: go with the home win at a narrow scoreline — Nottingham Forest 1-0 Tottenham. It’s the sort of result that suits the form, the H2H narrative and the odds. For conservative staking consider a double chance or the under 2.5 goals market — both fit the profile of a tight Premier League encounter.

For more previews and to compare markets across the board, check our roundup of football betting sites and always shop the odds. Punters who chase value and respect the game’s little details tend to come out smiling in the long run.

Written by:

Mark Brown

Chief Statistician

Bio:

Football bores me to tears! I’m not interested in the Rooney’s and Ronaldo’s of the world, but I am interested in betting. With that in mind, I spend hours trawling through the statistics of the football markets and can usually come up with an angle which presents a viable betting opportunity.

Key contributions:

Chief statistician or Stato, as my colleagues like to call me

Personnel betting philosophy or quotes:

“Risk wisely, gain greatly”