Everton vs Nottingham prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-12-28 15:00.
[p]Everton will look to end 2024 on a high against Nottingham Forest and extend their solid recent Premier League run to just one defeat in eight outings (W1, D5). While manager Sean Dyche would have liked to have turned more of those draws into wins, finishing all square in three successive matches against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City undoubtedly makes it a positive run.[/p]
[p]The Toffees still start the round just three points clear of the relegation zone, so will be eager to extend that gap here. Forest’s impressive form this season will be of concern for the hosts, but Everton do have a pretty dominant H2H record to boost their own belief, with just one of the past nine H2Hs ending in defeat (W6, D2). Forest are also just one of three teams Everton did the double against in the Premier League last season, with both those victories accompanied by a clean sheet. [/p]
[p]Repeating that feat looks a tall order based on how impressive Nottingham Forest have been in the first half of this campaign. The Tricky Trees made it four successive top-flight wins for the first time since May 1995 by beating Tottenham 1-0 on Boxing Day, with that victory remarkably cementing their position inside the top-four![/p]
[p]A big reason for Forest’s success this season has been their ability to strike first and forge a lead, with Anthony Elanga’s winning goal against Spurs the 14th occasion this season they have opened the scoring in a league contest. That’s a league-high, while the last three occasions they scored first on the road all came in victories that saw them score 2+ goals.[/p]
[p]Key battle: Jordan Pickford was the hero again last time out, denying Erling Haaland from the penalty spot to make his seventh career Premier League save for Everton – the joint-most for the club along with Tim Howard. Nottingham Forest’s Elanga will challenge him, as he has scored in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time, with the Swede blanking in each of his prior 28 games before that run.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Everton (38.7) and Forest (40.1) come into the round as the two sides with the lowest possession averages in the Premier League. [/p]
[p][i]Written by David H[/i][/p]