Nottingham vs Sheffield Utd prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-08-17 18:45.
A first win of the Premier League (PL) season could await opening day losers Nottingham Forest or Sheffield United here, in a fixture that was a Championship play-off clash a little over a year ago. A lot has changed at the City Ground since that day, with over 30 new faces coming through the door, but none of that wealth of signings could help prevent a 2-1 opening day defeat away to Arsenal.
Forest have notoriously struggled away from home in the PL, so that result won’t have been too much of a surprise to boss Steve Cooper. However, he ought to believe his side are well-placed to bounce back against a Blades side who they haven't lost to at the City Ground in a regular season league game since December 2008 (W3, D2), while a three-match winning home PL run only serves to reinforce that belief.
In spite of a 1-0 opening day defeat at home to Crystal Palace, Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom insists his new-look side “will only improve”. A raft of key player exits and arrivals at Bramall Lane over the summer certainly hasn’t helped the Blades’ preparations upon their PL return, but with an extra week allowing new faces to gel, he’ll see this as an opportunity to get off the mark for the season.
Heckingbottom will also hope his side can get that Friday feeling again, as Sheffield United have lost just one of their last ten Friday-held games (W6, D3). Interestingly, the Blades played Forest twice in that run (W1, D1), and with the last seven of those ten games seeing the home side on the day score exactly once, history would suggest some clinical Sheffield United finishing could see them claim the points.
Players to watch: The last time these two sides met, Morgan Gibbs-White lined up for Sheffield United. Now sporting Forest colours, three of his four goalscoring home appearances last season came in games featuring at least four goals. William Osula caught the eye on his PL debut, and he has made the score 2-0 on all three of his senior scoring appearances.
Hot stat: Forest are winless in their last six Friday-held games (D3, L3)!