At the top of the table, will Forest show an act of defiance?
Just five matchdays into the season, two of the three promoted sides in the Premier League are already stumbling. Only FFC have been convincing so far, while teams like Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth have already slipped into the lower third of the table after a slump in form.
Now the two crisis clubs meet. Nottingham Forest are favourites in the promotion battle with AFC Bournemouth.
Last season, Bournemouth beat Nottingham in the first and second legs of the 2021/22 Championship, extending their winning streak against the Reds. The Cherries, meanwhile, have gone without a competitive defeat against Nottingham since February 2015 – a good omen ahead of Saturday’s game?
In order to master the match at fellow promotion contenders Nottingham, AFC Bournemouth will have to hone their attacking game in particular on Saturday. After all, the Cherries have not scored since beating AVFC in the 2022/23 PL season opener. For more betting tips on matchday six in the English top flight, check out our Premier League matchday preview.
Nottingham – Statistics & current form
After the bitter defeat against Spurs from London, Nottingham also conceded a defeat against Manchester City during the week. The Reds were even shown up in the away game in Manchester and conceded with the 0:6 one of the highest first league defeats in the club’s history. They now have the chance to make amends at home against Bournemouth.
If successful, Nottingham can not only extend their lead over the relegation places, but in the best possible scenario also make a big leap in the table. Currently, only a single point separates the Reds from the red zone in the Premier League. Therefore, Saturday’s match against the Cherries is all the more important, especially as Nottingham will also benefit from home advantage.
At home, Nottingham last lost the league match against Tottenham. Having never lost two home games in a row at league level under the guidance of head coach Steve Cooper, the Tricky Trees approach Saturday’s game against Bournemouth with confidence. It is quite possible that they will score against the equally stumbling fellow promotion contenders.
Will the home strength be backed up at the City Ground?
The Tricky Trees’ home ground, the City Ground, has seen the Nottingham hosts suffer just three defeats season and competition-wide this calendar year. Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, have remained unbeaten in 14 of their 17 home games this year. Among other things, there was also a home win against Arsenal in this period – as a second division team, mind you.
If this record is extended against the Cherries, Nottingham vs. Bournemouth offers betting odds of 2.05 for tip 1. Head coach Cooper’s team has already won one of two home games this season – the league match against WHU.
Saturday’s match against the visitors from Bournemouth will see a total of three players in the Tricky Trees’ ranks miss out through injury. In addition to Niakhate and Richards, Mangala will also be missing this weekend. Compared to the starting eleven that was in action against the Citizens during the week, no major changes are expected.
Predicted Nottingham line-up:
Henderson; Worrall, McKenna, Kouyate; Williams, Yates, Freuler, Lodi; Lingard; Dennis, Johnson
Last matches played by Nottingham:
Premier League
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
14/08/2022 – Nottingham Forest 1 – 0 West Ham
Bournemouth – Statistics & current form
AFC Bournemouth folded after their successful start to the season against Aston Villa and squandered any momentum again. Not only have the Cherries conceded three defeats in their last four matches, but they have also been literally overrun by their league rivals. After only five matchdays, Bournemouth have conceded 16 goals.
Nine of those 16 goals were conceded in the historic league defeat to Liverpool FC. The promoted side went down to a 9-0 defeat away from home against the joint favourites for the league title. The point gained during the week only partially compensated for the bitter defeat against LFC.
The Cherries avoided going into the red zone with a goalless draw against Wolverhampton. Nevertheless, this cannot be used to gloss over the table situation in the English top flight. Every point gained is of immense importance to the Cherries at the moment – especially on foreign soil.
Continues the away misery in the PL?
All season, 14 of the last 16 away games have been lost at PL level. It would therefore not be at all surprising if Bournemouth also concede defeat in their encounter in Nottingham. Especially as the Cherries already have a record of 0-0-2 and a goal difference of 0:13 after two league games away from home this season.
However, the record against fellow promoted teams is encouraging: Bournemouth have won five of the last six league encounters against promoted teams. Only once, however, have the Cherries lost. In addition, Bournemouth have not lost a game against Nottingham since February 2015.
Whether the series will continue under Gary O’Neil remains to be seen. The 39-year-old took over as interim manager during the week and picked up a point against Wolves on his coaching debut. O’Neil will be without Brooks, Rothwell, Stanislas and Pearson through injury for his second league game as the Cherries’ new coach.
Predicted Bournemouth line-up:
Neto; Smith, Kelly, Mepham, Zemura; Tavernier, Lerma, Cook, Billing, Christie; Solanke
Last matches played by Bournemouth:
Premier League
01/09/2022 – Bournemouth 0 – 0 Wolverhampton
27/08/2022 – Liverpool FC 9 – 0 Bournemouth
Carabao Cup
24/08/2022 – Norwich (3)2 – 2(5) Bournemouth
Premier League
20/08/2022 – Bournemouth 0 – 3 Arsenal FC
13/08/2022 – Manchester City 4 – 0 Bournemouth
Nottingham – Bournemouth Direct comparison / H2H record
In the last 15 meetings between the two clubs, AFC Bournemouth lead the head-to-head comparison against Nottingham with a record of 6-5-4. Two of the six wins came last season. In the 2021/22 Championship, the Cherries scored three times in the first and second legs against Nottingham Forest.
Meanwhile, Bournemouth are unbeaten in four consecutive competitive games against the Tricky Trees. Only once in that period between Nottingham vs Bournemouth has a prediction of Over 2.5 goals in the game paid off.
Nottingham – Bournemouth betting tips
Neither Nottingham nor Bournemouth have been able to find their feet in the Premier League so far. The Cherries started the 2022/23 season with a win, but have only picked up a single point since. Bournemouth have lost three of their last four league games, including a historic 9-0 defeat at LFC.
Head coach Scott Parker was also sacked after the away defeat at Liverpool. Gary O’Neil, who picked up a point with the Cherries against Wolves during the week, was brought in as his interim successor. Saturday will be O’Neil’s second league game in charge of Bournemouth
With Bournemouth losing 14 of their last 16 away games in the English top flight, we think it’s natural to back a Cherries defeat this time around too. For Nottingham vs. Bournemouth, our betting odds of 2.05 are on a home win for the Tricky Trees. This will allow Nottingham to build on their record at the City Ground so far this year. We are betting five units on this one.
