Will Nottingham return to the Premier League after 23 years?
Who will complete the field for the 2022/23 Premier League season? Nottingham Forest will have a historic opportunity this Sunday when the final contender for the coming season in the English top flight is sought. After 23 years, the “Tricky Trees” could return to the English Premier League.
But for that to happen, the final hurdle on the road to promotion, in the form of Huddersfield, must first be cleared. The best bookmakers are quite optimistic about a possible promotion of Nottingham and put the team from the Midlands in their odds on Huddersfield against Nottingham in the favourite role. However, you don’t necessarily have to share this assessment.
The Terriers are currently in great form and travel to London’s Wembley Stadium with great self-confidence. Huddersfield are not used to defeats this season either, especially towards the end of the season they have been excellent for coach Corberán Vallet’s side.
Huddersfield – Statistics & current form
Not so long ago Huddersfield’s last adventure in the Premier League was with their upcoming opponents. With German coach David Wagner, they last achieved promotion in 2017. After they sensationally managed to stay in the league in the first season after promotion as glaring outsiders, they went down another level in the second season with only 16 points and as last in the table.
Strong second round
Now Huddersfield once again set their sights on competing in the top flight of the English game, and with a squad value of just €35 million. Even the squad of the upcoming opponents is worth about twice as much.
Huddersfield, however, operate with a strong collective and great team cohesion; in the second-round table of the Championship they are even first with 14 wins, while they still ended the first half of the season in tenth place. However, the upcoming opponents are right behind them in the second round table. Huddersfield have won three of the last four games against Nottingham in the league.
In addition, they are in absolute creamy form in the season’s final spurt. They have won four of their last five games before going on to beat Luton Town in the semi-finals, also without defeat. They are now undefeated in nine games, conceding only five goals.
Since Nottingham, on the other hand, have not been entirely convincing in recent games and have also won most of their last direct duels, the forecast for Huddersfield against Nottingham goes in the direction of a victory for the odds-on underdogs. On Sunday, coach Corberán Vallet will have his entire squad at his disposal as he attempts to secure promotion.
Predicted Huddersfield line-up: Nicholls, Lees, Hogg, Colwill, Pipa Ávila, Holmes, Russell, O’Brien, Toffolo, Sinani, Ward
Last matches played by Huddersfield:
Championship Play-off
17/05/2022 – Huddersfield 1 – 0 Luton
14/05/2022 – Luton 1 – 1 Huddersfield
Championship
07/05/2022 – Huddersfield 2 – 0 Bristol City
30/04/2022 – Coventry 1 – 2 Huddersfield
23/04/2022 – Huddersfield 2 – 1 Barnsley
Nottingham – Statistics & current form
Nottingham Forest have had a similar season to their upcoming opponents in the final this season. After finishing the pre-season in eighth place, Cooper’s side found their feet in the second half of the season and finished second behind Huddersfield in the final standings, one place behind their opponents in the final
Defensive showpiece
Nottingham’s defence has been particularly convincing this season. Next to Bournemouth, they conceded the fewest goals in the Championship. Less convincing, however, were the performances in the last games. They failed to win their last two league matches. In the semi-final, they won the first leg against Sheffield with 2-1, but lost the second leg with the same result, so that a penalty shoot-out had to decide the match.
In the end, they were able to prevail here, but left more power in the semi-final than their upcoming opponents. The hero in this match was goalkeeper Samba, who first saved his team from the penalty shoot-out and then saved three penalties.
Nevertheless, a win for the team from the Midlands should not be the first choice for Huddersfield against Nottingham. Those who still believe that the dream of promotion will become reality on Sunday will find odds of slightly above two for a Nottingham Forest win at the bookmakers for Huddersfield against Nottingham. Coach Cooper will be missing his captain Grabban in the decider.
Predicted Nottingham line-up: Samba, McKenna, Cook, Worrall, Colback, Garner, Yates, Spence, Zinckernagel, Surridge, Johnson
Last Nottingham games:
Championship Playoff
18/05/2022- Nottingham Forest (3)1 – 2(2) Sheffield United
14/05/2022 – Sheffield United 1 – 2 Nottingham Forest
Championship
07/05/2022 – Hull 1 – 1 Nottingham Forest
04/05/2022 – Bournemouth 1 – 0 Nottingham Forest
30/04/2022 – Nottingham Forest 5 – 1 Swansea
Huddersfield – Nottingham Direct comparison / H2H record
The two teams have faced each other in a total of 37 encounters in this traditional English duel. Huddersfield lead the overall record with 19 victories. Eleven times Nottingham won the match, seven times the points were shared. The goal difference of 51:44 is also in Huddersfield’s favour.
Huddersfield have come out on top in their last two league encounters, while Nottingham Forest prevailed in the FA Cup earlier this year.
Huddersfield – Nottingham Tip
Nottingham Forest’s favourites with the bookmakers can’t really be comprehended as two teams go toe-to-toe on Sunday, with slight advantages on Huddersfield’s side. Does the historic opportunity offered to the Tricky Trees play a role in the bettors’ assessment?
Excluding the FA Cup, Huddersfield have won three of their last four league games against Nottingham. The too-high odds for a Huddersfield win are crying out to be played at low to medium stakes. For Huddersfield vs Nottingham, the tip therefore goes towards a Huddersfield win.
However, the fans at Wembley Stadium will probably not see too many goals. Given the importance of this game and the fact that there is only one match to play in which any small mistake can be bitterly punished, both teams will certainly act cautiously.
