Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal Bet Builder Tips: Another Yates yellow in 11/1 City Ground shot

Third hosts second in the Premier League at the City Ground on Wednesday night (19:30, TNT Sports 2) as Nottingham Forest and Arsenal go head-to-head. Both teams arrive into their midweek meeting on a down note, however, with the Tricky Trees suffering a 4-3 defeat at Newcastle United on Sunday, and the Gunners losing 1-0 at home to West Ham United the day before.

Below are my Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal Bet Builder tips as I serve up an 11/1 four-fold from the East Midlands.

Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal Odds

Double Chance - Nottingham Forest or Draw

Nottingham Forest and Arsenal have met five times since the East Midlands side's promotion from the EFL Championship in 2022. The north Londoners emerged triumphant in four of those games including the last three.

Most recently, in November's reverse fixture at the Emirates Stadium, they coasted to a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Ethan Nwaneri, Thomas Partey and Bukayo Saka.

This time around, though, Saka won't be involved as he continues his recovery from a hamstring injury. Gabriel Jesus, another starter in the attack that day, is also injured, as is fellow centre-forward Kai Havertz, who was an unused substitute on November 23.

Nwaneri helped the Gunners past Leicester City on February 15, providing the assist for Mikel Merino's 81st-minute opener at the King Power Stadium before the Spaniard doubled his side's lead six minutes later, but neither Merino nor Nwaneri could weave any magic on Saturday as the Irons shut Mikel Arteta's team out in north London.

Forest have lost their last two games, going down 2-1 to Fulham at Craven Cottage the weekend prior to Sunday's defeat at St James' Park, but at home, they have been much more dependable in recent months.

Nuno Espirito Santo's side have won five of their last six Premier League games at the City Ground including their most recent two, the first a 3-2 victory over Southampton and the second a 7-0 annihilation of Brighton & Hove Albion earlier this month. They also held runaway leaders Liverpool to a 1-1 draw there last month and only two clubs - Fulham (0-1) and Newcastle (1-3) - have managed to get the better of them in West Bridgford.

The two-time European Cup winners have kept five clean sheets at home this season and two of those have been in the four they have played at the City Ground post-Christmas Day.

The visitors may struggle to get on the scoresheet, let alone net more than once, so the double chance on the home side appeals here.

Player Cards - Ryan Yates (NFO) Carded

Forest captain Ryan Yates was only sent on in the 76th minute on Tyneside but scored and picked up a yellow card in his brief time on the pitch.

The 27-year-old's booking was his seventh of the 2024/25 campaign in just 23 appearances (15 starts), one more than he amassed in 35 games last season.

Yates is expected to start in midweek and that makes him a standout candidate in the player card market as only teammate Nicolas Dominguez and Arsenal full-back Jurrien Timber (both seven) have been cautioned as many times as him this term.

The Forest midfield enforcer was carded in the reverse fixture, receiving a yellow in the 69th minute for his second foul of the match, and could go into the book again here with Nwaneri among the players who could cause him trouble.

Football Odds

Player Shots - Nikola Milenkovic (NFO) 1+ Shots

Forest centre-back Nikola Milenkovic failed to take a shot in either of his first two games this month but came back with a bang against Newcastle on Sunday, scoring with his right foot in the 63rd minute and missing the target with a header in the 85th minute.

The 27-year-old has been brilliant in both boxes for Forest since joining from Fiorentina last summer and his threat in the opposition's penalty area is highlighted in his three Premier League goals and shots-per-game average of one.

Milenkovic saw a header go wide at the Emirates in November and he will be looking to make more of any opportunities that fall his way this time around.

Player Shots - Gabriel Magalhaes (ARS) 1+ Shots

Like Milenkovic, Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes is a major threat from attacking set-pieces, matching the Serbian's goal tally of three in the Premier League this season.

The Brazilian is averaging 0.9 shots per game in the competition and has taken at least one in four of his last six league matches, recording two attempts against West Ham on Saturday.

Gabriel saw a left-footed effort miss the target against Forest earlier in the campaign and he looks a good bet to muster at least one attempt on Wednesday.

Offers

We will be Top Price on Arsenal to beat Nottingham Forest with selected bookmakers using Oddschecker for the comparison. (Available from 09:30 Wednesday)

£2 Free Bet Premier League: Opt in and receive a £2 Free Bet to use on any game in the Premier League this Wednesday!

Double Delight & Hat-trick Heaven: Get double or treble the odds if your winning First Goalscorer bet scores a 2nd and 3rd

Acca Flex: Place a pre-match 5+ leg Football accumulator and get a CASH bonus up to 100% if all of your selections win or your money back as CASH if one leg lets you down

You can read all our latest Football Betting Tips at our dedicated Betfred Insights content hub.