Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United
Nottingham Forest are in trouble. There’s no hiding from the fact that, in their first season back in the Premier League, Steve Cooper’s side is in danger of making a quick return to the Championship.
Sitting 18th in the league table and on a terrible run of results, Forest are in the mire and the visit of Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United top-four chasing is unlikely to help.
United come into the game on the back of a 2-2 draw with Sevilla in the Europa League and, having surrendered a two goal lead, I suspect the boss has made it clear he doesn’t expect to see that kind of sloppiness again.
Meanwhile, Forest slumped to a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend, and I fear they maybe about to see the ruthless side of the Red Devils.
Talking Points
Casemiro and Eriksen back for Red Devils
After a month-long suspension, Brazilian midfield ace Casemiro made a return to action in Manchester United’s clash with Sevilla and he was joined by the long-term injured Christian Eriksen who climbed off the bench midway through the second half.
Both players were a welcome sight for Manchester United fans after they had, along with centre-back Raphael Varane, introduced a long-awaited winning mentality in the dressing room.
Casemiro has been the perfect box-to-box midfielder since his arrival on the transfer deadline in August. He’s combative when needed, has a brilliant array of passing, and has popped up with some crucial goals.
And Eriksen, with his wand of a right foot, was the most productive assist-maker for United before his injury. Both are likely to make a start against Nottingham Forest and the hosts don’t have any players to match their calibre.
But there may be a couple of key players taking Casemiro and Eriksen’s places in the physio room after the centre-back pairing of Varane and Lisandro Martinez both picked up injuries against Sevilla.
Harry Maguire is likely to step in and that won’t inspire much confidence among the United faithful. He came on a substitute for Varane and scored the own goal which gave Los Sevillinos a draw.
But the Red Devils have been in the shadow of Manchester City for a decade now and, if their fight-back is to continue, ten Hag’s men simply have to beat Nottingham.
Forest floundering
Not so long ago, Nottingham Forest were edging towards mid table and talk of “three or four more wins needed for another season in the top-flight” reverberated around the red part of the East Midlands. But take a look at the latest relegation Premier League 2023 betting odds and you see a stark reality.
Forest are priced by SBOTOP as low as 1.36 to drop through the trapdoor with only Southampton lower. The next two up are Leicester City in turmoil but with stacks of top-flight talent, and Everton, coached by Sean Dyche who is an expert in scrapping for results.
What does Nottingham Forest have?
A bright young coach and 20-plus players, thrown together at great cost in the hope of making an immediate impact in the toughest league in the world.
The first half of the campaign went okay, but Forest relied too heavily on home form and now they need a pretty good run of Premier League 2023 results to help them survive.
Without a win in nine league games, Cooper’s side has eight left against Manchester United, Liverpool, Brighton, Brentford, Southampton, Chelsea, Arsenal, and Crystal Palace.
Can you see three wins there?
History
Manchester United have won eight of their 11 meetings with Nottingham Forest, drawing two and losing one, winning the league clash at Old Trafford 3-0, and putting Forest out of the Carabao Cup with an aggregate 5-0 victory.
With four wins, a draw, and a defeat, the Red Devils are in decent shape while, with two draws and four defeats, the hosts are anything but.
The only thing that gives Forest fans some hope is a solid home record of five wins, six draws, and four defeats.
Betting Tip
Forest are at odds of 4.36 to earn a vital three points or 3.54 to draw, with Manchester United at 1.63 to win. And for a correct score line 2-0 to the Red Devils are priced at 7.33.
The hosts will fight hard in front of a passionate crowd and they will get chances .But anything other than a United win with Casemiro and Eriksen back in the fold would be a big surprise.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT))
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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