Key Points
- Tricky Trees in for a test
- Ipswich becoming draw specialists
- Two bets advised at 29/10 and 7/1
Nottingham Forest host Ipswich this Saturday with Nuno Espirito Santo’s Reds heading into the game off the back of 2 straight defeats and shipping 6 goals in the process.
Forest are still in a healthy 7th position in the league, sitting just 3 points behind 3rd-placed Chelsea after the first dozen matches. Although there is perhaps a sense that the bubble might just have burst after back-to-back defeats for the first time this campaign.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich find themselves currently in the relegation zone by virtue of their inferior goal difference to 17th-placed Wolves. This is despite picking up 5 points from their last 3 PL fixtures, including winning at Spurs and drawing with Manchester United last time out.
The Tractor Boys have drawn half of their games so far this campaign, with 2 of these coming away from Portman Road, and could well fancy their chances to return to Suffolk with something from this one.
Wheels falling off the Forest wagon?
After their best start to a top-flight season for 25 years and amassing a staggering 19 points from the opening 10 games, Espirito Santo’s side have since lost the last two games by an aggregate of 6-1. Their defensive solidity, which saw them concede only 7 goals in the first 10 games, seems to have disappeared.
Such is the nature of the PL table, Forest despite their perceived excellent start are only two points better off than 14th-placed West Ham. So they might well be looking over their shoulder should they suffer another defeat or two in their upcoming games.
It’s been a mixed bag in terms of results so far for Forest at home, with 2 wins, 2 draws, and 2 defeats. This inconsistency must be a slight concern for The Reds.
Tractor boys ploughing a small unbeaten run
Ipswich travel to the City Ground in decent spirits having gained a win and two draws from their last 3 games and have avoided defeat in 3 of their last 5 games on the road. That includes the impressive 2-1 win away at Tottenham. McKenna’s team have scored in 5 of their 6 games away from Portman Road, with the 0-0 draw at Brighton the only time they have failed to score away so far.
The Tractor Boys have already proved this term they can mix it with the big boys, taking points from the likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa, Brighton, and United. I therefore have to think they are more than capable of getting something from this one.
Yet another draw on the cards for Ipswich?
Ipswich have drawn more Premier League games than any other side with 6, a third of their away matches ending in this result. Scoreline specifically, 4 of these draws have been 1-1.
For Forest this statistic of draws is slightly lower, with 4 of their 12 PL matches ending with both sides sharing the spoils. 2 of these draws have come in front of the home Forest faithful, with the 1-1 scoreline occurring in 75% of their drawn games.
Battle of the big men up-front
Nottingham Forest’s Chris Wood is the most likely goalscorer for The Reds, with the New Zealand international grabbing 8 goals in 12 appearances this campaign already, making him the joint-3rd top scorer in the PL.
After being a substitute last weekend away at Arsenal following international duty, I expect Wood to be back in the starting line-up and looking to add to the 4 goals he’s grabbed at the City Ground so far. In the absence of influential attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, the weight of goalscoring expectation falls further onto Wood to produce the goods in front of goal.
Can Delap hit the net on the road again?
For Ipswich, their main threat is summer signing Liam Delap who has 6 goals to his name for The Tractor Boys. With half of these coming away from home, including in each of the last 3 fixtures away from Portman Road, he could well fancy his chances of adding to this tally on Saturday afternoon.
A physical presence, the striker was very lucky not to receive a card in his previous outing against Man United and should be kept eye on if betting on fouls and cards.
Little to separate the sides
When it comes to choosing a winner between these two, the bookies do have Espirito Santo’s men as favourites, with Forest best priced at 8/11 with
StarSports
to come out on top by full-time.
However, given their form over the last couple of games and the number of goals conceded I’m put off backing them at odds-on. Coupling their own form with Ipswich’s ability of being able to breach opposition defences, it’s a swerve for me.
For either the aforementioned Chris Wood or Liam Delap to score or assist in the game,
Betfair Sportsbook
are offering the best odds on both selections, with 11/10 on Wood and 11/4 on Delap to either find the back of the net or set up a goal. I wouldn’t put anybody off backing both these selections, it would be hard to envisage a game with neither delivering.
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1-1 draw correct score bet at 7/1 with bet365
With all forms considered both longer-term and recent, I can’t get away from this being a fairly even contest with nothing to separate the two sides by full-time, particularly while Forest remain without Gibbs-White.
Given how frequently the 1-1 scoreline has occurred in both teams’ games so far, in 75% of Forest’s draws and 67% of Ipswich’s drawn matches, I’m going to be backing it to happen again at 7/1 with
bet365.
bet365 welcome offer:
Bet £10 & Get £30.
Top tip: Draw at 29/10 with Unibet
For the main bet, I’ll keep it slightly more simple, and with
Unibet
offering the best price of 3/1 on the game finishing in a draw, I feel I’m definitely on a value bet. A draw for Forest will at least stop the run of defeats and Ipswich will be happy to collect a valuable point on the road in turn.
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Bet £10 & Get £40 in Bonuses.
Nottingham Forest vs Ipswich Best Bet
- Market:
Match Winner/1x2
- Selection:
Draw
- Odds:
29/10
- Stake:
0.75pt
- Bookie:
Unibet
- Market:
Correct Score
- Selection:
1-1
- Odds:
7/1
- Stake:
0.25pt
- Bookie:
bet365
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