Nottingham vs Luton prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2023-10-20 14:00.
Nottingham Forest and Luton Town were two of the four standout relegation candidates at the beginning of this Premier League (PL) season, so it came as little surprise to see them lurking in the bottom half of the table during the October international break. Forest are on a four-game winless run (D3, L1), and with a trip to Anfield coming next weekend, could be uncomfortably close to the drop zone at the end of the month if they cannot take the spoils here.
The hosts will remain in trouble if they continue to drop points at home to other bottom-half clubs and head into this encounter having come from behind in their last two matches at the City Ground to earn 1-1 draws against Burnley and Brentford. And after failing to defeat Luton in any of their four previous Championship H2Hs across 2020/21 and 2021/22 (D2, L2), this latest meeting represents an excellent opportunity to demonstrate the progress that the Tricky Trees have made after a full season in the PL.
Luton seemed to have started to find their feet in their first top-flight campaign of the PL era after beating Everton 2-1 at the end of September, but came crashing back down to earth with home losses against both Burnley (2-1) and Tottenham (1-0), which saw them outside the relegation zone by virtue of goal difference alone during the international window.
It will be interesting to see if the signing of free agent Andros Townsend on a contract until January will bring any short-term relief, with manager Rob Edwards hinting that the former Everton winger may begin his new journey as a substitute until he is “Premier League-fit”. Anything Luton can do to strengthen their front third could be hugely valuable, particularly as their only two away goals so far this PL season were converted into victory at Everton, who began this round in the bottom half alongside Forest.
Players to watch: Forest striker Chris Wood scored off the bench in Forest’s only home PL win of this season as well as for New Zealand during the international break. Carlton Morris has been Luton’s talisman in the early stages of the campaign and his third goal of this PL season came during Luton’s first and only victory at Everton.
Hot streak: Forest’s last five PL matches have produced under 2.5 total goals, as have the last four H2Hs.