Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham predictions: Tricky Trees can pile pressure on Spurs

Dan Fitch
Spotlight
Nuno Espirito Santo is enjoying a terrific season at Nottingham Forest
Nuno Espirito Santo is enjoying a terrific season at Nottingham Forest

- Nottingham Forest are fourth in the Premier League
- Spurs are 11th in the table after the Liverpool drubbing
- Recommended Bet:
Forest to win and both teams to score

Nottingham Forest will be eyeing another big scalp when they welcome Tottenham to the City Ground for Premier League action on Boxing Day.

Forest’s fine season continued as they became the first team to beat Brentford at home during this campaign, in what was their third successive Premier League win. 

Tottenham were thrashed 6-3 by Liverpool, piling the pressure on Ange Postecoglou, whose methods may be providing entertainment for the neutral, but are failing to provide the consistency expected by the club’s fans.

Team news

Forest will be without the injured Ibrahim Sangare and Danilo. The Tricky Trees have a fully-fit squad to choose from barring those two absentees.

Spurs boss Postecoglou has a hefty list of unavailable players, with Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Mikey Moore, Wilson Odobert and Richarlison all missing.

Rodrigo Bentancur could return for Spurs having served his seven-match suspension.

The stats

Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has come under pressure in recent weeks
Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou has come under pressure in recent weeks

Forest are on a three-match winning streak, beating Manchester United, Aston Villa and Brentford. 

Tottenham’s 6-3 mauling at the hands of Liverpool means that they have conceded 13 goals in their last three home appearances. 

The Tricky Trees have won four of their last five games at the City Ground.

Spurs have lost four of their eight away matches in the league this season, with Newcastle, Brighton, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth all inflicting defeats. 

Prediction

Nuno’s stint as Spurs manager was a very short one and he now has the chance to dish out some revengeful cold cuts on Boxing Day, against opponents that are paying the price for their change in style.

The Portuguese manager struggled to implement a brand of football that was acceptable for the Londoners, but there are no complaints from his current employers, who are enjoying a dream season under his guidance..

In contrast, Tottenham have been experiencing a nightmare before Christmas, with even successes, such as the recent 4-3 Carabao Cup win over Manchester United, raising questions over their manager’s methods.

Postecoglou’s team have been hopelessly naive in recent defeats to Chelsea and Liverpool, seemingly not caring about the gaping holes that they leave at the back, in their relentless pursuit of more goals. 

While it seems certain that Spurs will score at the City Ground, it seems a fair bet that a Forest forward line that has been firing can make the most of the late presents that they will receive from the visitors on Boxing Day.

Win up to £250,000 with LiveScore 6!

Win up to £250,000 with our free-to-play game, LiveScore 6!

Tags

Premier LeagueNottingham ForestTottenham Hotspur