Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal Prediction: More misery for the Gunners?

It’s second v third in the Premier League on Wednesday night as Nottingham Forest host Arsenal at the City Ground (TNT Sports 2). The Gunners suffered a monumental blow in their title challenge at the weekend as they lost at home to West Ham, and Liverpool went and beat Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium to go 11 points clear at the top.

The league now seems out of reach, and Betfred have even paid out early on Arne Slot’s men to lift the Premier League title in May. But Nottingham Forest still have plenty to play for, with a Champions League place now a realistic possibility with 12 games to go. Below you can find my Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal prediction featuring team news and betting tips. 

Team News

Nicolas Dominguez and Callum Hudson-Odoi came into Forest’s starting XI for the entertaining defeat at Newcastle and we will have to see if Nuno Espirito SAnto sticks or twists. Morato could be reinstated into the defence by the manager, who is in a strong position with only reserve goalkeeper Carlos Miguel currently out of action. 

It means the key players such as Morgan Gibbs-White, Chris Wood, Murillo and Elliot Anderson will all start, with Anthony Elanga likely to provide the width along with Hudson-Odoi. Ryan Yates scored off the bench and will hope to break into the starting XI as Forest look to avoid three defeats on the spin. 

Meanwhile, Arsenal’s well-documented injury issues are ongoing. Bukayo Saka remains out injured, Gabriel Martinelli’s hamstring problem is set to keep him out for a month, but Ethan Nwaneri could be fit to play having come off with fatigue according to Mikel Arteta. 

Takehiro Tomiyasu is still sidelined, Kai Havertz is out for the season and Gabriel Jesus is also facing an extended stint on the sidelines. It will be interesting to see if Arteta picks Mikel Merino to lead the line again after a disappointing showing v West Ham, or if Raheem Sterling or youngster Nathan Butler-Oyedeji could come into the attack. 

Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal Odds

Nottingham Forest are priced at 11/4 to win this game having won seven of their 12 home matches so far this season. However, Arsenal have the second-best away record in the league and the Gunners have been priced up as the favourites at 1/1, which gives them an implied win probability of 50%. A draw can be backed at 13/5, which could be a good shout given just six points separate them in the table right now. 

Over 2.5 goals is 11/10 but Arsenal sit bottom of the table for that particular statistic, with a success rate of just 42% this term. BTTS is 10/11 for this one while Wood is the favourite to open the scoring at 11/2. 

Nottingham Forest to win @ 11/4 

I was to-ing and fro-ing over this selection, but I am going to go for it. It feels like a really good time to play Arsenal. They should secure a top-four finish with relative ease between now and the end of the season but once again their ultimate goal looks to have escaped them. They were dealt a hammer blow just a couple of days ago, and will now look at the Champions League as a possible route to success this year. 

Football Odds

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest may have lost their last two fixtures, but their second-half performance against Newcastle was extremely strong and I think we will get a special atmosphere under the lights at the City Ground. When I look at the strength of the starting XIs, I think Forest can get the better of Arsenal, who are clearly hampered by their lack of a striker, and the absence of key wingers Saka and Martinelli.

Forest have a striker on fire, Arsenal don’t. That could be the key difference between these two on Wednesday night. 

Morgan Gibbs-White to score first @ 11/1

This price caught my eye, so I’m going to put it forward as my second selection. Gibbs-White is arguably Forest’s most important player, and is guaranteed to start in that number 10 role. He’s scored five and got five assists in 22 PL games so far and although he would like those number to increase, it’s not a bad return. 

Given Wood has been scoring the majority of Forest’s goals, Gibbs-White has perhaps not got the numbers he deserves, but he has averaged 0.77 shots per game this season and should play a big part here. I just feel given his importance, and the type of game I am expecting, we are getting a massive price on him to open the scoring. I think Arsenal will crumble under the pressure of this crowd, and MGW can strike first. 

Offers

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

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

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.