Leicester vs Nottingham prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-10-24 19:00.
[p]Friday night sees the 110th edition of the East Midlands derby between Leicester City and Nottingham Forest, with the hosts going in search of a third successive top-flight victory and looking to nudge ahead in the historical H2H stakes, which stands level at 41 wins apiece (D27). The Foxes probably couldn’t come into this clash in a more buoyant mood, after they turned around a 2-0 half-time deficit to beat Southampton 3-2 last weekend – the first time Leicester have ever won a Premier League game in which they trailed by 2+ goals. [/p]
[p]They’ll undoubtedly hope this game will be a little more comfortable, but having won just one of the last four home H2Hs (D2, L1), that may not necessarily be the case. There’s also an interesting sub-plot to this game, as Leicester boss Steve Cooper was the man who ended Forest’s 20+ year wait to return to the Premier League, but after getting dismissed from the role in December 2023, he’d surely take great pleasure in securing Leicester a third-straight Premier League win for the first time since January 2021.[/p]
[p]The man who replaced Cooper in the Forest hotseat, Nuno EspĂrito Santo, would undoubtedly love to be the man to deny Cooper that privilege, but he runs into two glaring obstacles here. The first of those is that he’s banned from the touchline in this game, as he was in Monday night’s 1-0 win against Crystal Palace, while the fact a Nuno-managed side haven’t even scored a goal in their last four meetings with Leicester doesn’t bode well either.  [/p]
[p]On a more positive note, Forest are unbeaten in their last six away league games (W4, D2) – their longest such run in the top-flight since October 1995! The Tricky Trees will hope to extend that run and secure local bragging rights, particularly after winning the last H2H 2-0, but incredibly, Forest haven’t won successive meetings since 1995![/p]
[p]Players to watch: Abdul Fatawu’s substitution changed the game against Southampton and he could get the nod from the off here – his last four scoring club appearances saw him net the opener. Forest’s Chris Wood returns to a ground he used to call home to face a side who four of his five career Premier League goals against have been game openers inside the opening 30 minutes. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Forest have kept a first-half clean sheet in six of their eight league games this season.[/p]
[p][i]Written by Chris Wilson[/i][/p]