Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Stalemate anticipated on Wearside

Nottingham Forest are five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone after last weekend's win over Burnley, and they will hope to build on that when they travel to the Stadium of Light to face Sunderland on Friday (20:00 BST, Sky Sports Main Event).

The Black Cats lost a seven-goal thriller at Aston Villa on Sunday, but they had won two in a row prior to that defeat. My Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest predictions can be found below, as well as the latest team news and match odds from Betfred.

Team News

Dan Ballard came off the bench to feature at Villa Park, and the defender could be set to return to Sunderland's XI on Friday night. Omar Alderete, Simon Moore and Romaine Mundle are ruled out through injury, while Jocelin Ta Bi, Bertrand Traore and Nilson Angulo are all doubts to feature.

Premier League Odds

Forest are missing Murillo, Dan Ndoye, Willy Boly, Nicolo Savona, John Victor and Callum Hudson-Odoi due to injury.

Morgan Gibbs-White netted a hat-trick in last week's victory against Burnley to take him into double figures for the season, the first time the Englishman has reached this milestone in the top flight.

Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest Odds

Sunderland have won three of their last five fixtures in the league and they are 13/8 to triumph on Friday.

Forest are the same price for victory, which they accomplished on their latest away trip - a 3-0 success at Tottenham Hotspur.

The Tricky Trees have played out three draws across their five most recent games in the top flight, and the stalemate here is on offer at 23/10 (implied probability of 30.3%).

Over 2.5 Goals can be backed at 11/10, with this threshold being reached in four of Forest's past six matches in the Premier League.

Today's Football Fixtures

Match Result - Draw @ 23/10

With Sunderland in a position to qualify for Europe next season, and Forest determined to maintain their Premier League status, both teams will be pumped up for Friday's clash on Wearside.

While the Black Cats eventually lost to Villa, they did well to come from two goals down to level the game at 3-3 late on before Tammy Abraham's injury-time winner.

Having beaten Newcastle United and Spurs recently, they should fancy themselves to get a result against Forest. They have, after all, only lost two of their previous six outings in the top flight (W3 D1).

The Tricky Trees are on a five-game unbeaten run in the Premier League and they will hope to build on their four-goal showing against strugglers Burnley last time out. Three of their games during this streak have been stalemates.

Both these sides are in decent form and will be tough to break down. I'm sitting on the fence and backing the draw.

Both Teams To Score - Yes @ 5/6

I may be predicting a stalemate, but I think it will be an entertaining one. Both these sides have been in good form recently and this should bode well for goals at the Stadium of Light.

Six of Forest's past 10 outings in the Premier League have included goals for both sides, including their two most recent results against Aston Villa and Burnley.

Four of Sunderland's last seven fixtures in the top flight have seen BTTS - Yes land, including two of their previous three.

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