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Ex-Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper faces his old side in the East Midlands Derby on Friday night when Leicester host The Reds at the King Power in what looks to be a highly charged and eagerly anticipated game.
Cooper led Nottingham Forest back to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs back in 2022 after a 23-year absence from the top flight and takes charge against his former side for the first time following his sacking by last December.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have been a tough nut to crack this term, with just the 1 PL defeat so far and impressively are still unbeaten away from the City Ground. On the road, they’ve had 2 wins and 2 draws, including at both Brighton and Chelsea and are still the only side to defeat Liverpool this season.
For Cooper and Leicester, they look to have found a bit of momentum now after back-to-back wins in their last two fixtures.
The Foxes won at home against Bournemouth and in dramatic fashion away at Southampton last weekend. They trailed by 2 goals at half-time before snatching a 3-2 victory in the last minute of stoppage time so are looking to continue this form against their East Midlands rivals.
Despite Cooper’s affiliation with Forest and no doubt mutual adoration from the Forest fans for his achievements whilst manager of The Reds, I expect there to be no love lost come kick-off on Friday night when the sides face off.
Leicester, along with Manchester City, are the only other side to have scored in every single league game so far. Similarly, Espirito Santo’s Forest have only failed to score once all campaign and have found the net in each of their 4 matches on the road this season.
One thing you can certainly say about Forest since Espirito Santo took over last December is that he has galvanised his group of players and made them resolute and difficult to break down. The fact that he has been unbeaten in 22 out of his 35 games as Forest's head coach backs this up and shows the character and belief he has instilled in his squad.
The Reds have drawn half of their PL matches this term and 5 out of their 9 games in all competitions, with the 1-1 scoreline occurring 4 times so far this season. Forest have the 5th best away form in the PL, gaining 8 points from a possible 12 available and have only conceded 3 goals in these matches, the joint 3rd best defence away from home.
Only Liverpool, Manchester City and Aston Villa can boast an unbeaten away record so far. I believe this is a testament to Espirito Santo’s well-drilled and organised shape of being hard to beat, predominantly playing with a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Nottingham Forest have a disciplined and organised way of setting up coupled with a threat on the counterattack at any moment, particularly with the pace wingers Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi pose. Therefore, I see The Reds maintaining their unbeaten record on the road at the end of this Friday night clash.
This leads me onto the betting markets for the game and firstly I had to look at in-form striker Chris Wood and the Player Shots On Target market.
Wood is his side’s top scorer with 5 goals this season and has 3 in his last 4 matches. He is the focal point for Espirito Santo’s team, their main man the chances fall to and also the penalty taker. Interestingly all 5 of his goals have been the opening strike in a match too.
The best price odds on offer from bet365 of 12/5 to have Over 1.5 shots on target does look tempting but there are preferred bets just below.
The Team to Score First market also looks appealing, with Forest priced at 1/1 with BoyleSports to strike the first goal of the match.
The fact The Reds have scored first in 7 of their 8 PL games and in all 4 matches away from the City Ground makes the even money offer very tasty and a must-bet given the strength of conviction I have in Forest.
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My tip for this East Midlands derby would be with bet365 and their best-priced 4/5 odds on the Draw No Bet market and Nottingham Forest as the selection.
Leicester have only managed 1 win from 4 PL games on home soil this term, a somewhat fortunate narrow 1-0 win over Bournemouth in their last home game.
With the steel and resilience already alluded to under Espirito Santo and their stubbornness to break down, I see Forest leaving the King Power with at least a point on Friday night and with their unbeaten away record still intact.
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