Nottingham Forest ready to resume strong home form against Sheffield United
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United - 18/08/2023
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Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United will both be looking to bounce back from opening-day defeats when they meet at the City Ground on Friday night.
Forest suffered a 2-1 defeat against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium last weekend, while the Blades were beaten 1-0 by Crystal Palace on home soil.
Can Steve Cooper’s men pick up their impressive home form from last season? Or will newly-promoted Sheff Utd spoil the party at the City Ground?
Nottingham Forest found themselves 2-0 down inside 32 minutes last time out, with goals from Eddie Nketiah and Bukayo Saka putting Arsenal in control.
Despite facing a barrage of 15 shots while seeing just 21% possession, Forest grabbed a goal back through Taiwo Awoniyi late on, although they failed to avoid defeat.
The Tricky Trees finished the previous campaign on a high, taking 11 points from their final six matches to finish four points clear of the relegation zone.
It is also worth remembering that Forest enjoyed plenty of success on home soil last term, losing only five of their 19 league games at the City Ground in 2022-23.
Newly-promoted Sheffield United, meanwhile, suffered a 1-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on the opening weekend of the season.
Not only did the Blades face 24 shots against the Eagles, but they also managed to register a solitary attempt on target in reply.
Sheff Utd clinched the second automatic promotion spot in the Championship last season after picking up 91 points – 10 points fewer than Burnley.
When the Blades were last in the Premier League back in 2020-21, they finished rock bottom of the table and 16 points from a safety.
Head-to-head: Nottingham Forest defeated Sheffield United on penalties in the semi-finals of the 2021-22 Championship play-offs following a 3-3 aggregate draw.
Across the past 12 meetings between Forest and Sheff Utd in all competitions, both sides have claimed four wins, playing out four draws along the way.
Team news: Nottingham Forest look set to be without the injured trio of Felipe, Omar Richards and Wayne Hennessey for the foreseeable future.
As for Sheffield United, John Fleck, Rhian Brewster, Ismaila Coulibaly, Jayden Bogle, Daniel Jebbison and Oliver McBurnie are all out injured.
Given what Nottingham Forest achieved on home soil last season, Sheffield United will struggle to get anything from Friday’s showdown.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Forest will score over 1.5 goals and keep a clean sheet on their way to dispatching the Blades.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
EPL
463519
1
2 - 0
2.45
20°
1.85
1.85
3.50
4.20
no
no
no
2 - 1(1 - 0)
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