Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United Betting Tips

Friday’s Championship clash sees lower-end Nottingham Forest host table-topping Newcastle United.

Although they are quite close to the relegation zone, Forest are actually on a pretty decent run at the moment having just won two matches on the bounce as well as being unbeaten in their last three. Philippe Montanier’s men had been on a pretty horrendous run prior to that three-game streak having lost three games on the spin. Forest’s turnaround in recent weeks shows just how competitive the Championship is and that it is almost impossible to write anybody off as they can quite easily have a change in fortune within a matter of days.

The first of those two wins was away at Ipswich Town where Forest managed to register not only a win but also a first league clean sheet of the season. However, their dodgy back-line was back to business as usual just a week later as they conceded two goals away at Barnsley which means only bottom of the table Rotherham United have a worse defensive record than Forest. Having said that, The Reds firepower is certainly one to be jealous of and they clearly rely on outscoring teams rather than trying to build on a solid defensive foundation. Forest’s ‘Goals For’ column reads an impressive 32 which is only bettered by top-of-the-table, and Friday’s opponents, Newcastle United.

Goals are certainly the way to go if you are looking to bet on Forest so keep that in mind.

Although Forest’s record at home has been able to keep them out of the relegation zone so far this season, their last two wins came on the road and so it will be interesting to see how Montanier’s side handle the pressure of playing in front of expectant home fans.

Despite the fact that they are top of the table, Newcastle are actually having a slight wobble at the moment with two consecutive defeats in all competitions. First they suffered a shock loss to struggling Blackburn Rovers before being beaten on penalties by Premier League Hull City in the League Cup.

Whilst nobody likes losing, you suspect that this defeat to Hull may not worry manager Rafa Benitez an awful lot as it allows him to focus solely on the Championship for the time being. Although Newcastle are pretty much guaranteed to win the league, any loss of focus could see that change – especially with Brighton & Hove Albion, managed by former Toon boss Chris Hughton, hot on their tails.

Away form has been pretty good for Newcastle so far this season having lost just once on the road and even that was on opening night against Fulham.

As previously mentioned, The Black and White Army have the best attacking record in the league and they will feel they can put it to good use against a pretty terrible Forest defence.

Overall, I think Newcastle should get back to winning ways here and prove that the loss against Blackburn was just a blip – something that can easily happen in the Championship. It is also worth pointing out that, although they officially lost the tie to Hull City in the League Cup, they actually drew the match in 90 minutes.

Many will say that Newcastle’s 120 minute plus penalties EFL Cup match will have knocked the stuffing out of them, but I am not convinced. Newcastle have shown that they are more than capable of taking the quick turnarounds that are required in the Championship in their stride.

I said earlier about how goals will certainly be worth looking at in this match and, with this in mind, ‘Newcastle United to Win & Over 2.5 Goals’, at 8/5, is a bet to be on. With Forest so poor at the back I think Newcastle will be finding the net a few times; however, the home side are good going forward and a Forest goal should only aid your cause here.

Sticking with the goals theme I would also advise ‘Over 3.5 Goals’ at an appealing 2/1. The profit margin on this market is excellent. You cannot get anywhere near that sort of value on say, Liverpool, and it is worth remembering that, right now, Newcastle are pretty much the Championship version of Liverpool with their attacking prowess. Whilst I expect Newcastle to win, this stake allows flexibility on the result so, if Forest manage to pull off a shock victory or there is a high-scoring draw – both quite possible outcomes given the form of this pair – then you still treble your money.

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