Nottingham Forest continue their search for a first Premier League win since the opening weekend against an in-form Manchester United side.
Match News and Current Form
Both of Sean Dyche’s first two games in charge of Nottingham Forest have ended 2-0 (W1, L1), with the defeat coming in the Premier League at Bournemouth on Sunday. That marked the Tricky Trees’ fourth successive league loss without scoring and stretched their winless run in the competition to eight matches (D2, L6), leaving them inside the relegation zone and in desperate need of a turnaround. Re-establishing the City Ground as a fortress would certainly help on that front, but Forest have won just twice on home soil since beating United in April (D1, L7), albeit one of those victories came in Dyche’s first game in charge.
Manchester United journey south with some long-awaited momentum behind them, as they were one of three sides to win all of their three Premier League games in October. From matchday three onwards, Ruben Amorim’s men are the leading scorers in the division (14) with only Arsenal (16) claiming more points than the Red Devils (15). Faith in Amorim’s methods may finally be starting to pay off, and he’ll now be eyeing up back-to-back away league wins, with victory on their last trip against Liverpool ending an eight-match winless run in league road games prior (D2, L6).
Head-to-Head History
Forest have won each of the last three league H2Hs, two of which came at the City Ground. Not since 1910 have United lost four successive league matches against Forest.
Hot Stats and Streaks
Forest have lost their last three Saturday-held home games without scoring.
Dyche-managed sides have failed to score in ten of their last 14 Premier League matches.
United are unbeaten in all six games they scored first in this season (W5, D1).
Eight of the 14 goals conceded by United this season came beyond the hour mark.
Key Players to Watch and Missing Players
Morgan Gibbs-White is seemingly Forest’s best hope here having directly contributed to four goals in his last four league matches against United (G2, A2). Fresh from opening his United account against Brighton, Matheus Cunha should be relishing this fixture having been involved in seven goals in his last four games against sides starting the day in the Premier League relegation zone (G3, A4).
Forest are without Dilane Bakwa, while Oleksandr Zinchenko and Chris Wood remain doubtful. United will hope Harry Maguire is fit to return after missing their game against Brighton.
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Betting Analysis
Forest have to start firing in front of goal soon, and with United doing well up front lately, backing over 3.5 goals here could be a smart move.
Author: Ryan Fisher