English Premier
2025-04-21 - Tottenham Hotspur vs Nottingham Forest
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Monday 21st April 2025 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV
Tottenham Hotspur
There was defiance shown by Ange Postecoglou in the post-match press conference after his Tottenham Hotspur team battled for a 2-1 aggregate success over Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League Quarter Final. Six years ago, Tottenham Hotspur managed to reach the Champions League Final, and in 2025 they are going to be considered strong favourites to beat Bodo/Glimt to make the Europa League Final.
As the manager stated, Tottenham Hotspur fans and the media will have to 'put up with (him) for a bit longer' following the victory in the Europa League. Media reports have suggested Ange Postecoglou will be removed if Tottenham Hotspur fail to win the Europa League, although the Australian himself feels some believe he will be Sacked regardless. Much of the frustration for the fans is seeing Tottenham Hotspur down in 15th place in the Premier League table, although they blame the board as much as the manager.
Tottenham Hotspur have lost 1 of their last 4 games in all competitions and they have secured a couple of wins in that time that will have given the players a lift. On Monday Spurs will be protecting a 4 game unbeaten run at home in all competitions and they had won consecutive fixtures here by the same 3-1 scoreline before the slightly unfortunate 1-1 draw with Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League Quarter Final First Leg.
Heung-Min Son and James Maddison are doubts.
Nottingham Forest
Some reporters and perhaps some fans might have begun speaking about Nottingham Forest returning to the top UEFA competition for the first time in over forty years, but Nuno Espirito Santo has been much more careful with his language. The manager will be reminding his players of how quickly things can change if they take their eye off the prize and Nottingham Forest have hit a poor patch at a bad time.
There is still so much Nottingham Forest can achieve with a FA Cup Semi Final coming up next weekend, but the team were knocked down to 4th place in the Premier League standings thanks to Newcastle United's two big wins over the last few days. The Tricky Trees are 2 points ahead of Manchester City and 3 points clear of Chelsea in 6th, but they play last this weekend and could kickoff as low as that if results have gone against them.
Nottingham Forest have been beaten in consecutive Premier League games by Aston Villa and Everton and all of a sudden they have lost half of their last 10 Premier League fixtures. The defeat at Villa Park means Nottingham Forest have been beaten in 4 of their last 5 away League games played.
Ola Aina and Taiwo Awoniyi will have late fitness tests to determine availability and give the manager a full squad to choose from. Both should be more ready for the FA Cup Semi Final next weekend even if they were to miss out on Monday.
Head to Head
Anthony Elanga provided the goal to help Nottingham Forest beat Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 at the City Ground on Boxing Day.
Spurs have won their last 3 at home against Nottingham Forest and all by the same 3-1 scoreline.
Prediction
Ange Postecoglou continues to offer plenty of defiance, but he will know that his time as Tottenham Hotspur manager is going to be judged on whether they win the Europa League or not.
Getting back into the Champions League would be a huge boost for the club and there is little doubt that the Europa League is considerably more important than the Premier League.
In saying that, Postecoglou will want his team to keep fighting domestically and finish the season strong having already overseen 17 League defeats in this campaign. That is not going to ever cut it for a club that believes they are part of the 'Big Six', but injuries have cleared up and Tottenham Hotspur have looked better for it.
They continue to create chances and score goals and can do so even without Heung-Min Son and James Maddison who are both doubts. Players like Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke will step up to the mark and Tottenham Hotspur are hosting a Nottingham Forest team that have had confidence knocked after suffering back to back League defeats.
All of a sudden the Champions League spot that some fans have been dreaming about is looking much shakier and this is a big game for Nuno Espirito Santo at the home of his former club.
Nottingham Forest have hit a really poor patch of form away from home with 4 losses in their last 5 Premier League fixtures on their travels. The biggest concern has to be how the once solid defensive organisation has looked a little more open and Tottenham Hotspur can hurt the visitors.
However, the Nottingham Forest style of play is almost certainly going to pose a lot of problems for Tottenham Hotspur's defence that will likely have changes made to it.
For all of their attacking capabilities, Tottenham Hotspur can be caught out on the counter and that is likely going to be the case on Monday.
Both teams scoring would not be a big surprise and Nottingham Forest may have to take more risks if they want to earn the three points here. That should play into the hands of Tottenham Hotspur, who like to play football with men streaming forward, and an entertaining fixture could be the result, which should bode well for the neutrals tuning in.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Nottingham Forest
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Over 2.5 Goals at 1.61 with BetFred
