Duell zweier Aufsteiger!
This is the first meeting in England’s top flight between Nottingham Forrest and Fulham FC since 1968. Both teams were promoted in pre-season and therefore already met in the Championship in the 21/22 season. Nottingham Forrest’s 205th game will be the first time they have played on a Friday and so they will be celebrating a first.
While the Cottagers have started the season well, the Tricky Trees look more like they have had a messed up start to the season. They are on a streak of three straight defeats and will now do everything they can to break that streak. In the game between Nottingham versus Fulham, the odds on a home win are quite high due to the losing streak.
In terms of the season as a whole, this is a clash between two teams that are likely to be playing against relegation. The Londoners have twice as many points on their account as their fellow promoted team, but they will still be far from safe. Especially the two direct duels between the clubs can be of great importance in the fight for relegation. Financially, both teams are no longer at Second Division level and their respective squads are too good for the Championship. Relegation would therefore bring enormous economic losses. The odds on the match between Nottingham and Fulham are therefore not far apart.
It is also the duel of two top strikers of the past Championship season. Alexander Mitrovic was directly involved in 50 goals in pre-season and set a new goal record. His opposite number is Brennan Johnson, who is 21 years old and thus six years younger than the Serbian striker of Fulham FC. With 16 goals and 10 assists, he was the Reds’ top scorer in the past season. He is currently the highest-scoring player aged 21 or younger in the top four leagues in England. In the match between Nottingham and Fulham, betting on Mitrovic to score is very lucrative, as he is currently on four games in a row in which he has scored a goal.
Nottingham – Statistics & current form
The Tricky Trees are not really “tricky” on the road yet in the new season. They are on the second last place in the Premier League and could collect only four points so far. Their only win came on matchday 2 against West Ham. Early on in the season, it is therefore clear that they will most likely play against relegation. The club had certainly imagined this differently, because in the summer Nottingham Forrest spent the most money of any team in the world. However, money can’t buy you victories and from another point of view, the many transfers only created a lot of pressure on the players, the coach and thus also on the club.
The Reds’ defence is shaking mightily
Nottingham Forrest have conceded fourteen goals in six games this season. They concede 2.33 goals per game and only Leicester City and Bournemouth have conceded more. The Garibaldi Reds are also the only team to have conceded more than one hundred shots. Goalkeeper Dean Henderson, with 42 shots on goal, also saw the most balls fly his way. Without his support and his two saved penalties, things would look even bleaker for the promoted team. In the match between Nottingham and Fulham, betting on an away goal is therefore very interesting, because Fulham FC will probably get enough chances.
The home games as small hopefuls
At home, Nottingham Forrest took three points from three games and their only win of the season. The Tricky Trees also scored three of their four goals at home, conceding just five of their fourteen in the process. If they have anything to play for, it will be in front of their home crowd, as the fans are absolutely behind the team. They also have a good squad, so they can certainly compete against Fulham FC. The two goals from the home game against Bournemouth should also have a positive effect, at least with regard to their offensive qualities.
Predicted line-up of Nottingham:
Henderson – Williams – Worrall – Cook – Boly – Lodi – Yates – Kouyate – Gibbs-White – Lingard – Johnson
Last Nottingham games:
Premier League
03/09/2022 – Nottingham Forest 2 – 3 Bournemouth
01/09/2022 – Manchester City 6 – 0 Nottingham Forest
28/08/2022 – Nottingham Forest 0 – 2 Tottenham
Carabao Cup
24/08/2022 – Grimsby 0 – 3 Nottingham Forest
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Everton 1 – 1 Nottingham Forest
Fulham – Statistics & current form
The Lily Whites are in a solid tenth place after six matchdays. They have picked up eight points so far this season and have only lost twice. The defeats were against the top clubs Tottenham and Arsenal and overall their points tally is very respectable in this tough opening programme. Especially the fighting spirit and the will in the team is noticeable. The chemistry in the team seems to be right and the fact that Fulham FC have already used 23 different players fits in with this. Every player gets his chance, even though the Londoners only made three changes to their starting line-up in the entire season.
Alexander Mitrovic and co. with good goal-scoring record
The Serbian goalscorer and his attacking teammates are doing an outstanding job so far. In their six Premier League games they have already scored nine goals and that as a promoted team. They are averaging 1.5 goals per game and with the away game coming up, this is of course a very positive figure. In the 2020/21 season, their goal average was only half of what it is now. In the match between Nottingham and Fulham, the forecast for a Cottagers goal is thus to be expected in many respects. Especially their crossing game, for example through Kenny Tete to Alexander Mitrovic, is simply very strong and difficult to defend.
Fulham are sluggish in picking up points away from home.
In the away table, Fulham find themselves in 15th place. In their three away games, they only picked up a single point and therefore, despite being slight favourites, they should be fully up to it against Nottingham Forrest. On the other hand, the opponents with Arsenal, Tottenham and Wolverhampton were anything but easy. Therefore, it is also understandable that in the match between Nottingham and Fulham the forecast of the biggest bookmakers points to a very even match. Therefore, a game of equals is to be expected.
Predicted line-up of Fulham:
Leno – Tete – Adarabioyo – Ream – Robinson – Reed – Palhina – Kebano – Pereira – Reid – Mitrovic
Last Fulham games:
Premier League
03/09/2022 – Tottenham 2 – 1 Fulham
31/08/2022 – Fulham 2 – 1 Brighton
27/08/2022 – Arsenal FC 2 – 1 Fulham
Carabao Cup
24/08/2022 – Crawley 2 – 0 Fulham
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Fulham 3 – 2 Brentford
Nottingham – Fulham Direct comparison / H2H record
The direct comparison goes quite clearly to Fulham FC. The Londoners have won all of their last three away matches at Nottingham Forrest. In addition, they lost only two of the past seven direct duels with the Tricky Trees and won the remaining five games. As a rule, especially in the recent past, goals have been few and far between and often only one of the two teams has scored. Ahead of this game, however, there is a lot to suggest that this will change.
Nottingham – Fulham Tip
In the match between Nottingham versus Fulham, the betting base prediction is to go for a goal bet due to the balance. The Reds are not to be underestimated, especially in their own stadium, and are obliged to use the home games to collect as many points as possible. In the fight for relegation, a win would be enormously important for both teams. Qualitatively, the two clubs have little in common, because Nottingham in particular was able to upgrade in the summer. Fulham, however, are in better form and have shown exceptional composure in their away games so far, even if it has not been enough for a win so far.
The big difference between the two clubs is that the Tricky Trees are a rag-tag bunch of good players, while the Cottagers are a welded team. The Londoners are well-rehearsed and therefore rightly go into the game as slight favourites. In the match between Nottingham and Fulham, betting on Fulham is therefore the logical consequence. But betting on a win involves a lot of risk, so the double chance on the reigning Championship champions is also very interesting.
