Tottenham v Nottingham Forest Betting Markets
At the beginning of the season, Tottenham might have been odds-on to claim a Premier League victory at home to Nottingham Forest. However, the bookies are prepared to chalk up 2.45 that Spurs land three points. This suggests that the London side only have a 40% chance of claiming the spoils and it's easy to see why that's the case.
Tottenham have only beaten Burnley and Brentford at home this season. Two victories across sixteen matches is a low win rate, with Igor Tudor having seen his team lose 3-1 to Crystal Palace in their last match at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Previously to this, there was a 4-1 reverse at the hands of Arsenal.
There's a lot of pressure on the shoulders of the players who are likely to have exited the Champions League at the hands of Atletico Madrid. However, they registered seven shots on target at Anfield and the point on Merseyside was richly-deserved, with Tudor now hoping that the mentality of the team can improve enough to give them a chance of victory here.
Nottingham Forest are likely to be stubborn opposition. They may have failed to land a win under Vitor Pereira domestically, although they've avoided defeat in nearly half their away games. They played well against Fulham last weekend and came within a whisker of beating the Cottagers at the City Ground. Before this, they claimed an impressive 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium.
Pereira will be confident that his team can avoid defeat against such off-colour opponents. They were only undone by a late Liverpool winner when they probably deserved to beat the Reds, with Forest only allowing Fulham to register one shot on target last weekend. Therefore, we might expect a tight clash.
Goals Under/Over
The bookies can't split the odds for Under 2.5 Goals and Over 2.5 Goals. Push comes to shove, we would opt for the former here. This is arguably the biggest game of the Premier League season for both sides. Going behind would make life very difficult considering both teams will want to get their noses in front and then look to defend stoutly.
Pereira has his first-choice goalkeeper and back four in operation here and the players were capable of shutting out the opposition on a regular basis. Murillo and Milenkovic may well stop Richarlison and Dominic Solanke from having a sniff of goal, with Elliott Anderson one of the best number sixes in the business.
Tottenham will also draw confidence after a solid defensive display at Anfield where the only goal conceded was a free-kick that should have been saved by Vicario. Tudor will have Cristian Romero back in the team and hoping that his captain provides the steel and not the stupidity which has cost his team in the past.
BTTS
Both teams to score is a likely outcome according to the Premier League betting sites. The bookies have BTTS Yes as a 60% chance of happening, with many recent Tottenham games having this happening. Since losing 2-0 at Old Trafford on 7 February, there have been six successive matches where both Spurs and their opponents have found the net.
By the time this game is played, the run is likely to be seven and Spurs have always boasted a goal threat. The flip side is that the opposition have scored a combined twenty-one goals across eight games and it's hard to see a clean sheet happening. There have been twenty-five goals conceded across fifteen home matches.
Forest have only averaged a goal per away game this term and what might lead us to back BTTS No is the fact that this isn't a game where they can afford to lose. They do find the net on the road in the Premier League on a regular basis right now, with Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliott Anderson scoring at Manchester City and the team had four attempts on target against the Cityzens.
First Goalscorer
It was Richarlison who found the scoring touch at Anfield and the Brazilian will surely be deployed in an attacking role against Forest. The former Everton man might only have ten goals for the campaign although he came off the bench to net a consolation effort at Craven Cottage. The last time he scored at home was against Liverpool on 20 December.
Dominic Solanke bagged a brace against Manchester City as part of a 2-2 draw and he appears to be fully fit following an injury-hit season. The 28-year-old has scored in two of his previous three encounters, finding the net against Crystal Palace and also Atletico Madrid in the Champions League.
Part of Forest's problem is that they don't have a striker banging them in which is what happened last season when Chris Wood was a surprise package. Morgan Gibbs-White has ten goals in all competitions this term and is the player most likely to get into scoring positions from open play. He also found the net at Brighton and Manchester City, with the player having been linked with a move to Spurs before staying put.