English Premier
2025-04-12 - Nottingham Forest vs Everton
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Saturday 12th April 2025 - Kick Off 3pm
Nottingham Forest
No one can dispute that this has been a fantastic season for Nuno Espirito Santo and his Nottingham Forest team, but everyone associated with the club may feel that missing out on the Champions League would be a real disappointment from the position they have moved into. Last weekend's defeat at Villa Park is a real reminder to the Nottingham Forest squad that there are a host of clubs queueing up behind them in the standings, even after the top five were confirmed to have Champions League places attached to them.
They are 3rd in the table despite the loss to rivals Aston Villa, but Nottingham Forest are 'only' 5 points clear of 6th placed Manchester City and with seven Premier League fixtures to play. Improving the 9-4-2 record at the City Ground is the only focus for the manager and the players this weekend and then shifting the pressure onto those behind them in the current standings.
Nottingham Forest had been unbeaten in 6 games in all competitions and had won 3 Premier League fixtures in a row before the setback at Aston Villa. They have been particularly productive at the City Ground where they are unbeaten in 9 League games and The Tricky Trees have secured maximum points in 7 of those matches.
Alex Moreno is available, but both Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood are doubts. Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi are hoping to return in time for the FA Cup Semi Final later this month.
Everton
Six more points will make effectively make it completely safe to call Everton a Premier League Football club for the 2025/26 season, although no one genuinely believes they are going to be relegated now. David Moyes will be so pleased with the character shown by his squad since returning as manager of the club and they fought back for a 1-1 draw with Arsenal last weekend.
The Toffees are 15th in the Premier League table and have a 15 point buffer to 18th placed Ipswich Town as we move into the final seven rounds of fixtures to be played. They have a 3-6-6 away record in the Premier League where Everton have scored 11 goals this season.
Everton have not won any of their last 6 Premier League games, but they have kept the points ticking over with 5 draws in that time and an unfortunate 1-0 defeat in the Merseyside derby at Anfield. They had been unbeaten in 4 away Premier League fixtures before that defeat to Liverpool earlier this month.
Vitalii Mykolenko is hoping to be available for selection.
Head to Head
Early goals in each half helped Nottingham Forest to a comfortable 0-2 win at Goodison Park earlier this season.
Nottingham Forest have won none of their last 4 home games against Everton and have suffered 3 defeats in that time.
Prediction
They may have a poor home record against Everton in recent years, but Nottingham Forest can be very proud of how they have performed at the City Ground this season.
The form has given them every chance of returning to the Champions League/European Cup for the first time since the early 1980s, but Nuno Espirito Santo will be reminding his players of the work that is still to do.
Even with the top five positions open for a place in the top UEFA competition, the 2-1 loss at Villa Park last weekend means there is still plenty of work in front of 3rd placed Nottingham Forest. Failing to win this weekend would seriously ramp up the pressure and the manager will be concerned that injuries have arrived at a poor time.
They have avoided those for much of the season, but Chris Wood has been a major absentee over the last two weeks. He remains a doubt, while Anthony Elanga and Ola Aina are key figures that are also set to miss out and that makes getting in front of the fine margins that much more difficult for Nottingham Forest.
Defensively they have remained pretty sound, especially at the City Ground, but will be facing an Everton team that will bring plenty of grit and determination to Nottingham.
David Moyes has been very happy with what the squad have given him and Everton have proven tough to beat, even if they have still lacked goals.
This has all of the makings of a tight, competitive fixture with both teams looking to set up with strong defensive foundations and to then create counter attacking or set piece opportunities. The layers are very much anticipating a low-scoring fixture, which is unsurprising, and a single goal may end up deciding the outcome of this one.
If Chris Wood is fit, that would be a huge boost for Nottingham Forest, but they found a way to beat Manchester United without him. Taiwo Awoniyi led the line that day, and is also expected to miss out, but Nottingham Forest showed enough last weekend at Villa Park to believe they can find what may end up being a single winning goal.
At odds against, Nottingham Forest can be backed to win this fixture, although it will be a tight game and with likely very little between the teams when all is said and done.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Everton
