Nottingham vs Tottenham prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-12-25 15:00.
[p]The romantic speculation of Nottingham Forest ending a nearly 30-year wait to return to European football is gathering steam after they collected a third consecutive Premier League victory in December. One week after defeating current Champions League participants Aston Villa, Forest became the first visiting club to win a competitive game at Brentford Community Stadium this season with a 2-0 triumph. [/p]
[p]Nottingham head coach Nuno EspĂrito Santo, who is in the running to be named the Premier League Manager of the Month for a sixth time, has publicly called for his players to remain grounded by reminding them they “haven’t achieved anything yet”. But spending Christmas in the top four surely is something to be heralded, and having won four of their last five top-flight home games, Nuno’s side look good value to at least land a knockout blow on his former employers on Boxing Day.[/p]
[p]There is plenty of time yet for Tottenham Hotspur to close the eight-point gap to fourth-placed Forest, but as they approach the halfway point of the season, their chances are starting to look remote, not least because of a crippling inability to compete with fellow European hopefuls. They failed to win all four Premier League matches against top-half opposition (D1, L3) since the famous, but increasingly inconsequential, 4-0 victory at Manchester City. [/p]
[p]Despite speaking weekly of the fatigue that is hindering his injury-hit squad, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou fielded an unchanged lineup from the one that defeated Manchester United in the EFL Cup last Thursday night only for them to concede six goals at home to league leaders Liverpool (L 6-3). Such a frenetic scoreline may be unlikely here, with Forest the lowest scoring top-half club in the league, but a fourth consecutive H2H win still looks out of reach for Spurs on current form. Â [/p]
[p]Players to watch: Forest striker Chris Wood, who has won his last nine scoring appearances for Nottingham or New Zealand, was their only goal scorer against Spurs last season. Spurs recruit Dominic Solanke will have very fond memories of these surroundings, as all six of his career goal contributions against Forest came on this ground (G4, A2), including a hat-trick last season whilst playing for Bournemouth.[/p]
[p]Hot stat: Six of Tottenham’s last nine matches in all competitions produced 4+ total goals. [/p]
[p][i]Written by Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]