Will Forest escape the relegation battle?
On Friday evening, AFC Sunderland will host Nottingham Forest at their home ground, the Stadium of Light. The hosts have collected 46 points so far this Premier League season, placing them in 11th position and still in contention for European competition. The visitors from Nottingham, on the other hand, will only play in Europe next season if they win the Europa League. In the league, with 36 points, they sit in 16th place and are fighting relegation.
Most recently, the Tricky Trees have been extremely prolific on the road, finding the net in each of their last seven Premier League away matches. In six of those games, they scored after halftime, which is why we’re once again predicting at least one goal from Nottingham in the second half in our Sunderland vs. Nottingham tip.
Sunderland heads into this home match against Nottingham Forest with mixed prospects. On the one hand, their record against the Tricky Trees in recent years has been quite positive—Sunderland has won five of the last six league encounters. On the other hand, a look at the current season shows that the Black Cats’ games often feature very few goals.
Only Crystal Palace has been involved in even fewer goals, which underscores their basic style of play. The recent 3-4 loss to Aston Villa is a clear outlier and accounts for nine percent of all goals scored in Sunderland matches this season. Another curious fact stands out: Sunderland has never won a Premier League match on a Friday. In our Sunderland vs. Nottingham Forest prediction, we can well imagine that this will remain the case.
Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, arrives in significantly improved form. The team is unbeaten in its last five Premier League matches, marking its best run of the current season. Overall, they have won two of their last three league matches, racking up as many wins as they did in the previous 14 games combined. Despite their generally weaker record against Sunderland, their current form is a major source of confidence. Coach Vitor Pereira has proven to be particularly effective in March and April. Eight wins from 13 games and an average of 2.15 points per game speak for themselves, while his record in the other months drops significantly.
Sunderland – Nottingham Head-to-Head Record
In the head-to-head history between AFC Sunderland and Nottingham Forest, 78 matches have been played so far, 71 of them in the Premier League, six in the Championship, and one in the League Cup. Sunderland has come out on top with 36 wins, while Nottingham Forest has 26 victories.
In addition, there have been 16 draws, making the rivalry appear relatively balanced overall, even though Sunderland holds a clear advantage in terms of wins. The goal difference also underscores this picture: Sunderland has scored 119 goals, while Nottingham Forest has scored 98.
Sunderland – Nottingham Prediction
For the Sunderland vs. Nottingham matchup, the betting odds in the Bwin app lean slightly toward the visitors from Nottingham. The Tricky Trees are unbeaten in their last seven competitive matches, securing four wins in the process. Their away form has also been solid, with just one loss in their last six away games.
AFC’s form, on the other hand, has been inconsistent; they’ve won just three of their last nine league games and have lost three of their last four home matches. While the Black Cats have won five of their last six league matches against Forest, they’ve never actually won on a Friday in the top flight of English soccer.
