Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Wood to haunt Tractor Boys again

Ipswich Town are winless in their last nine appearances in the Premier League and are currently six points adrift of safety. They welcome Nottingham Forest to Portman Road on Saturday (15:00), with the visitors still in a strong position to finish in the top four.

Forest were 1-0 winners over Manchester City last time out, so the Tricky Trees will be feeling confident heading to East Anglia to face a side who are looking devoid of ideas. Read on for my Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest predictions, aided by the latest team news and match odds.

Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest Odds

Ipswich are winless in nine matches in the top flight and they are 11/4 to fell the Tricky Trees. There have been two draws in that run but both were away from home.

Forest have also drawn one of their past two games in the Premier League coming into this clash. The stalemate is on offer at 13/5. The visitors are 1/1 (which has an implied probability of 50%), to come away with the three points - which they have managed in four of their previous seven trips in the league.

The Tricky Trees won the reverse fixture 1-0 at the City Ground back in November, and you can get the same scoreline at 13/2 on Saturday. It's 13/8 (38.1%) for Forest to record a clean sheet, too, which they have managed in their last two appearances in the top flight.

Chris Wood was the match-winner in November from the penalty spot, and you can get 100/30 on him to open the scoring at Portman Road.

Football Odds

Team News

Ipswich are having to cope with a whole host of injuries at the moment, which is denting their survival chances. Wes Burns (knee), Chiedozie Ogbene (Achilles), Sammie Szmodics (ankle), Axel Tuanzebe (hamstring) and Conor Chaplin (knee) are all missing for the Tractor Boys.

Kalvin Phillips has returned to training from a calf issue and he will be closely monitored ahead of the weekend.

Julio Enciso was fit to start in the defeat at Crystal Palace last time out, while Omari Hutchinson was able to make a cameo from the bench. The former Chelsea man will be itching to start on Saturday and he may come into the side at the expense of Jaden Philogene.

Liam Delap will continue up top for the hosts, having bagged 10 goals in the league this term. However, the former Manchester City man needs to be careful because he is one booking away from a two-game suspension, which would be catastrophic for Ipswich.

The striker has committed more fouls (60) than any other player in the Premier League this season.

Forest travel to East Anglia with just back-up goalkeeper Carlos Miguel out of action with a hamstring problem. Nuno Espirito Santo has a clean bill of health otherwise, so we could see the team that beat Man City last week line up in IP1.

Wood is leading the way for goals in Forest's colours this campaign, with 18 goals in the top flight. The New Zealander will continue up top and he will be aided by last week's match-winner Callum Hudson-Odoi, Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White, with the latter on the cusp of club history.

After teeing up the goal against City, Gibbs-White recorded his 39th goal involvement in the Premier League for the Tricky Trees, moving him within five of Ian Woan's record of 44.

Nottingham Forest to win @ 1/1

Forest have been excellent this season and even though they have suffered a dip recently, they are still the clear favourites to beat a wailing Ipswich side, who are without a win in their past nine outings in the league.

After three games without a win, they responded brilliantly with the victory over Man City last time out, and that result can go a long way in the grand scheme of things come the end of term.

Those three points have reassured supporters that qualification for the Champions League this year is realistic and they are now four points ahead of the defending champions. Confidence will be sky-high right now in the Forest squad, and with no real injury concerns, they should be able to put another win on the board when they take on Ipswich on Saturday.

The visitors have won four of their previous seven away trips in the league and so they are good value to best the Tractor Boys on Saturday.

Chris Wood anytime goalscorer @ 23/20

Forest's main man up front will be itching to get back on the scoresheet as he is currently three games without a goal in the league. The veteran has been given a new lease of life in this division since Nuno took the reins at the City Ground, and Wood has been one of the best-performing centre-forwards for the past 15 months.

This feels like the perfect game for him to get back on the goal train. It's against an opponent he has already scored against this season, while Ipswich have the third-worst defensive record in the division with 58 goals conceded.

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