Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Stalemate at St James’ Park

After two away defeats in a row, Nottingham Forest will look to demonstrate strength on their travels as they face Newcastle United at St James' Park in the Premier League on Sunday (14:00, Sky Sports Main Event).

The hosts have lost three of their last four outings in the top flight, including two at home. Last weekend saw them thumped 4-0 at Manchester City, which came as a surprise to most. Both teams are aiming to secure European football for next season, so neither can afford to keep dropping points. Read on for my Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest predictions, accompanied by the latest match odds and team news.

Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest Odds

Newcastle have won three of their past five home encounters in the league and they are 5/6 to come out on top on Saturday. They also won the reverse fixture 3-1 back in November.

With both sides suffering with a lack of confidence at the moment, the draw looks tempting at 3/1 (which has an implied probability of 25%). The two teams both experienced their latest stalemate whilst playing league leaders Liverpool at home. Newcastle faced them on December 4 and Forest more recently on January 14.

Forest are also priced at 3/1 to come away with the three points, which they have accomplished in four of their previous six fixtures on their travels.

Both teams to score has struck in three of Newcastle's last four appearances in the Premier League, as well as their latest meeting with the Tricky Trees, and BTTS is on offer at 4/7 (63.6%) on Sunday.

Chris Wood (Forest) and Alexander Isak (Newcastle) have scored 18 and 17 goals respectively in the league so far this season. The latter leads the anytime goalscorer market with a 10/11 price, while the former is third at 8/5.

Football Odds

Team News

Newcastle were left bruised by Manchester City, but only in a mental sense. The Magpies came away without any fresh injuries so the only players they are missing right now are Joelinton, Jamaal Lascelles and Sven Botman, who are all out with knee issues.

Eddie Howe is left with Fabian Schar and Dan Burn as his centre-back options, and the duo are likely to be supported by Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento as the full-backs.

Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali seem nailed on for starts in the midfield, but there will be competition between Sean Longstaff and Joe Willock for that third spot in the middle of the park.

Newcastle's top scorer Isak has scored in all three of his appearances against Forest to date and he will lead the line once again, aided by Anthony Gordon and Jacob Murphy on the flanks.

Callum Hudson-Odoi is back in contention for Nottingham Forest after making a cameo from the bench in the defeat against Fulham last time out. The wide man could return to his post on the left flank, with Anthony Elanga moving back over to the right side.

Morgan Gibbs-White will occupy the space in between them, while Wood will spearhead the attack, having scored a hat-trick against his former employers in this fixture in 2023/24.

Taiwo Awoniyi should make the squad after completing his concussion protocol, but goalkeeper Carlos Miguel is out with a hamstring issue. That has little impact heading into the weekend as Matz Sels is the firmly established number one for the Tricky Trees.

Draw and both teams to score @ 100/30

Both these teams will look to rediscover their mojo on Sunday, especially when they have high aspirations of featuring in Europe next term. Forest sit third and currently have a four-point cushion inside the top four, but recent away defeats have denied them further comfort.

Newcastle are seventh and three points off Man City in fourth, so last week's defeat stung in more ways than one. They have suffered consecutive losses at St James' Park and they cannot afford to keep dropping points on home turf when they are still a chaser in the top-four race.

Across the campaign we have seen the quality that both sides have, and we're at an important stage of the season where they simply cannot lose focus. The onus will be on the Magpies as the home team but their defence has looked vulnerable in recent weeks, highlighted by the four goals conceded against a hot and cold Man City team.

The same goes for Forest when they have been out on the road. They shipped five at AFC Bournemouth and then two at Fulham last weekend. This is something boss Nuno Espirito Santo will want to correct quickly.

The two teams both have players who can step up and be the difference here, but neither side comes into this clash with the kind of confidence that they would like. As such, I think backing a draw and both teams to score is a sensible selection here, which would be a good result for the two clubs given how their recent form has been.

Anthony Elanga to assist a goal @ 4/1

Wood may have grabbed most of the headlines surrounding Forest this term, but winger Elanga has been just as impressive. The former Manchester United man has been on hand to provide eight assists in the top flight, as well bagging three goals for himself.

With United lacking wide options due to Marcus Rahshford's loan to Aston Villa and Amad Diallo's injury, they are being made to pay for letting go of Elanga, who has been one of the best creators in the division this campaign.

The Swede notched three assists in Forest's 7-0 hammering of Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month and he has the quality to get in behind a frail Newcastle back line, not to mention a prolific striker in Wood to aim for.

Offers

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