Will the Gunners end their drought away from home?

After four competitive games in a row without a win (one draw, three defeats), Arsenal FC bounced back last weekend with a brilliant 5-0 win in the London derby against Crystal Palace. However, the Gunners are now five points behind leaders Liverpool. It would therefore be all the more important for Mikel Arteta’s side to win away to Nottingham against Arsenal

However, the Londoners travel to the East Midlands with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. Having won all of their first three Premier League away games of the 2023/24 season, the Gunners have gone winless in their last three away league matches (one draw, two defeats). There are also only two wins in their last seven games away from home (two draws, three defeats), which should not be ignored in the prediction for Nottingham v Arsenal.

In addition, Nottingham Forest certainly have the image of a giant-killer. The Tricky Trees’ last two Premier League wins have come against teams that finished the 2022-23 season in the top four. The Garibaldi Reds beat Newcastle United 3:1. The final score was 2-1 against Manchester United, and Nottingham have also won all of their last three home games at the City Ground against Arsenal in all competitions.

It is therefore important that the final tip for this match at least does not rule out the Tricky Trees winning a point. We therefore opt for a handicap of +2 on Nottingham, which also includes any away win for the Gunners with a maximum goal difference.

Nottingham – Statistics & current form

Nottingham Forest won the only English championship in the club’s history in the summer of 1978. The following year, the Tricky Trees then secured the European Champions Cup, in which they were also seeded as defending champions in the following season, where they promptly won the overall title again.

As a result, the club from the English East Midlands is still the only club with more overall victories in the European Champions Cup than national championship titles. However, this did not prevent the Garibaldi Reds from falling into a deep slump. It was not until the summer of 2022 that the club returned to the Premier League after a 23-year absence

Nuno Espírito Santo has arrived well in Nottingham

As 16th in the final table, they promptly managed to stay in the league, which was also their goal for the 2023/24 season. The Tricks Trees are currently well on course. Admittedly, their haul of 20 points from 21 league games is anything but good. Nevertheless, the cushion to the first relegation spot is a reasonably comfortable four points.

On the positive side, they have only lost one of their last six competitive matches (three wins, two draws). Nuno Espírito Santo’s arrival as coach of the Garibaldi Reds has been correspondingly good, but they have already squandered 46 points after taking the lead since their return to the Premier League – eleven more than any other first division team.

Nottingham with good results against top teams

According to the odds offered by the bookmakers, the betting odds on Nottingham against Arsenal for the Tricky Trees to win their next point are not too good. However, there are two aspects that speak in favor of the club from the East Midlands. Firstly, Forest have won all of their last three competitive matches against the Gunners.

And secondly, the Garibaldi Reds have recently sold themselves extremely expensively, especially against top teams. Nottingham’s last two victories in the Premier League came against two teams who finished the 2022/23 season in the top four. Newcastle were dispatched 3:1. Meanwhile, it was 2-1 against Manchester United in the last Premier League home game to date.

Predicted Nottingham line-up:

Arsenal – Statistics & current form

Although Arsenal Football Club have won a total of 13 national championship titles, the last time they won the Premier League was 20 years ago. After not really having much to do with the championship battle for quite a while, the Londoners were finally able to attack at the top again in the 2022/23 season.

In the end, however, their haul of 84 points was only enough to finish runners-up, five points behind Manchester City. Accordingly, Mikel Arteta’s side have big plans for the new season

Arsenal squandered their good starting position around the turn of the year

After 21 league games, however, they are once again five points off first place, which is currently held by Liverpool FC. That is annoying in that the capital city side were still in the thick of things until the turn of the year. However, a 1:1 draw with the Reds on the River Mersey was followed by two highly annoying defeats against West Ham (0:2) and Fulham (1:2).

The 2024 calendar year then kicked off with an FA Cup exit against Liverpool (0:2). After the Gunners remained winless in their fourth competitive game in a row (one draw, three defeats), they vented their frustration on the final matchday in the London derby against Crystal Palace, which they won brilliantly 5-0.

Arsenal have often lost away from home recently

On the other hand, Mikel Arteta’s side have not won any of their last three Premier League games away from home (one draw, two defeats). In fact, they have only won two of their last seven matches in the top flight of English soccer (two draws, three defeats).

It is therefore anything but a matter of course that the odds of all bookmakers are swinging so clearly in the Gunners’ favor ahead of the match between Nottingham and Arsenal, especially as the Londoners have lost all of their last three competitive matches at the City Ground. In other words, the risk of stumbling again in the East Midlands is by no means small…

Predicted Arsenal line-up:

Nottingham – Arsenal head-to-head comparison / H2H result

Head to head: 29 – 22 – 53

There have been a total of 104 meetings between the two teams so far and Arsenal FC clearly lead the head-to-head comparison with 53 wins. The Londoners have won five of their last six Premier League games against Nottingham Forest, but have struggled at the City Ground of late. The Gunners have lost all of their last three visits to the Tricky Trees.

Nottingham – Arsenal tip

For our taste, the bookmakers’ odds for Nottingham against Arsenal are far too clearly in favor of the visitors from the state capital. Basically, we underline the Gunners’ role as favorites. However, it should not be forgotten that the Londoners are winless in three Premier League away games (one draw, two defeats) and have also lost all of their last three away games at the City Ground. What’s more, the Tricky Trees have shone in their last two Premier League wins against teams that finished in the top four last season.

For Nottingham v Arsenal, our predictions should not be too hasty in ruling out a point or even a home win for the Garibaldi Reds. We therefore apply a handicap of +2 to the Tricky Trees, which also covers any away win for the favored Gunners with only a one-goal difference