Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United
Expect a white-hot atmosphere at the City Ground on Saturday when the Premier League contest between Nottingham Forest and West Ham takes centre stage.
It’s 16th versus eighth place with points at a premium as Forest are just two clear of the relegation zone, while West Ham are desperate to see their European hopes stay alive.
David Moyes’ Hammers are without a win in seven games, and they took a horrible thumping at home to Arsenal last week, as the Gunners plundered six goals without reply. Meanwhile, Forest were on the wrong end of a 3-2 result against Newcastle on Monday night.
Nuno Espirito Santo was brought in as head coach to steer Forest to safety, but he has had mixed success since his arrival and this is a serious test. Despite the Premier League 2024 betting odds pitching the hosts as marginal favourites and the visitors’ poor recent form, the Hammers have a team packed with quality and, if they channel their anger, they will be very dangerous.
The Forest fans will be as loud as ever on Saturday, but expect the Londoners to make their feelings felt too. Some of them are not happy with their manager, but all of them will give Nuno a hot reception, given his previous connection with Tottenham Hotspur.
This match-up promises to be a cracker, tasty on the pitch and off it.
Talking Points
Elanga starting to fulfil his promise
Of all Nottingham Forest’s numerous signings over the past two seasons, the summer capture of Swedish forward Anthony Elanga looks like reaping some serious dividends.
He scored Forest’s first goal in the defeat to Newcastle, finishing coolly at the end of a fast break, and that is his biggest asset. In the early stages of the campaign, he got into some great positions, using his pace to get behind opposition defences, but his end product wasn’t always there.
Now he has five goals and six assists, and the former Manchester United man will be the biggest danger to the Hammers’ defence, particularly as top scorer Chris Wood is out of action.
According to the Premier League 2024 updates, the experienced striker picked up a hamstring problem during a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal and is facing six weeks on the sidelines. He has eight goals for the campaign so far, and the Kiwi brings physicality to the Forest frontline which will be missed.
Nuno moved in the January transfer window to bring USA star Gio Reyna on loan from Borussia Dortmund. He made a substitute appearance during the loss to Newcastle at the weekend, and he is pushing for a start against the Hammers.
West Ham still winless in 2024
That West Ham still sit in eighth place without a victory in the fist six weeks of the calendar year shows just how strong they were in 2023.
Some supporters turned on Moyes at the end of the 6-0 thrashing by the Gunners, even calling for him to be sacked. Fans have short memories sometimes.
Moyes is an experienced and quality manager and has led the Hammers into successful campaigns in Europe, winning the Europa Conference League beating Fiorentina in the final. It was West Ham’s first trophy since 1980, but still some fans aren’t happy with their current eighth place.
This is a tough league, but the Hammers do have plenty of top quality players, and Moyes has the nous to turn things around.
With the delivery of James Ward-Prowse and the pace and goal-scoring exploits of Jarred Bowen, they will always score goals and the manager knows how to make a team harder to beat.
Centre-back Kurt Zouma was hooked at halftime against Arsenal and was replaced by Konstantinos Mavropanos, and I expect the Greek star to start on Saturday.
And this may be the time to start with midfielder Kalvin Phillips, on loan from Manchester City. The England man can sit just behind the powerful Tomas Soucek, and that will give the defence more protection.
History
The Hammers have had the better of the recent head-to-heads They have won 12 of the last 20 meetings between these two teams, including a 3-2 thriller in December as Ward-Prowse made two assists, including teeing up an 88th minute winner for Soucek.
Forest have won four and drawn four of these encounters, including a 1-0 home win on their return to the Premier League last season.
With one win, two draws, and three defeats from the last six games, Forest are in slightly better shape than the Hammers, who have drawn three and lost three.
Betting Tip
The hosts are marginal favourites to win this game, at SBOTOP odds of 2.36, with West Ham at 2.59 and the draw is priced at 3.10.
The last eight games involving these two teams have yielded two or more goals, with five of these matches hitting the Over 2.50 mark, and I expect goals again on Saturday.
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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