NFFC (Nottingham Forest) vs AFCB (AFC Bournemouth) Match Prediction
England
City Ground
Bournemouth have lost their talisman Dominic Solanke to Tottenham Hotspur for a record fee. This will be a major challenge for Iraola to deal with come the start of the new season. Enes Unal’s loan deal was made permanent in the summer, and it remains to be seen if he can get close to Solanke’s tally of 18 goals last season. Luis Sinisterra’s loan deal has also been made permanent. Bournemouth also lost Lloyd Kelly to Newcastle United early in the summer window. It also remains to be seen if Bournemouth use the funds of Solanke to further strengthen their squad.
Facts:
- Bournemouth will incidentally be facing Nottingham Forest for the second time in a season opener. The last time these two clubs clashed on opening day was in the 2007/08 League One season. That game ended in a goalless draw with no team able to capitalise.
- Nottingham Forest, in recent history, has a horrible record when it comes to season openers. The Tricky Trees have performed very poorly in their opening games, losing each of their last 5 games on match week 1. In each of those 5 games, they have conceded 2 goals apiece.
- Bournemouth, on the other hand, have suddenly started to do quite well in their opening weekend games. The Cherries remain unbeaten in each of their last four season openers. They have won 2 and drawn 2 of those 4 games. Before this spell, the Cherries won only 1 of their first 3 opening weekend games in the Premier League.
- Nottingham Forest had a horrid calendar year in terms of point accumulation. The Tricky Trees are the worst team in the Premier League in this aspect. They were able to register just 16 points from a total of 18 games, losing 10. They did, however, end the season strong, winning 2 of their last 3 games, which guaranteed them survival.
Nottingham Forest vs AFC Bournemouth Chance of Winning
The recent head-to-head record between Nottingham Forest and AFC Bournemouth has favoured the team from the South Coast. In the last 6 games in all competitions between these two teams, Nottingham Forest has won 1 game, and 2 games have ended in a draw with Chelsea winning 3 times.
It remains to be seen if Nottingham Forest can pick up a gear or two under Nuno Santo this season. In the last campaign, Forest did struggle as they looked like a team with no identity. The football looked very basic and highly relied on one of their creative attackers making something out of nothing, which evidently shows from their expected goal output.
Bournemouth, on the other hand, have a manager with the tactical acumen of Iraola, who was brilliant in some spells last season. There was an identity in how the Cherries played last season. Based on everything, we do believe that at the moment Nottingham Forest is slightly better placed in terms of the squad, and that is why we believe that they have a better chance of winning.
Nottingham Forest vs AFC Bournemouth Predictions and Betting Tips
The oddsmakers have labelled this tie between Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest as a very close one. The gap between the Tricky Trees and the Cherries in terms of their odds is very narrow, with the former being the slight odds-on favourites to win on Saturday. In terms of the two teams, there isn’t much to split coming in from pre-season; hence, the bookies have gone on to favour the team that is playing at home this week. Nottingham Forest last season narrowly avoided the drop. Their home form was the major reason that kept languishing near the bottom. The Tricky Trees last season won a total of just 5 games from a total of 19, losing 9 and drawing 5.
Their attacking output, however, was not bad and perhaps one of the major contributing factors towards the end of last season’s good results. The Tricky Trees have a plethora of good attacking talent that helped them score goals. Last season they averaged 1.42 goals a game at the City Ground this season from an expected goals ratio of 1.35. They outperformed their expected goal tally last season. Bournemouth last season was a decent outfit; however, results towards the end were not the best. Their record away from home was pretty suspect as well. The Cherries had a 32% win record away from the Vitality Stadium. Their attacking tally of 1.42 from an expected goals tally of 1.48 was decent as per their standards.
Based on the above numbers, here are our predictions and tips for this game. Our call is for Nottingham Forest to edge past Bournemouth in this game. We expect Nottingham Forest to score 2 or more goals in this game. We do see this game being a high-scoring encounter; hence, our call is for both teams to score a combined tally of over 3.5 goals. We also support Bournemouth to get a goal in this game, as they do have the attacking talent as well. In terms of the defensive stats, we do not expect either Forest or Bournemouth to get a clean sheet in this game. The Tricky Trees last season conceded 1.58 goals on average at the City Ground, keeping a clean sheet in just 11% of their total home games. Bournemouth’s defensive numbers away from home were also quite bad. They did let in a lot of goals, as they conceded an average of 2.05 goals away from home. Their clean sheet record, however, was much better than Nottingham Forest, as they had a 21% rate. However, we do not see Iraola’s men being able to hold the likes of Hudson-Odoi and Elanga.
Nottingham Forest last season at home averaged more than 10 shots a game at the City Ground. We do see this game being quite an open encounter. Forest, as mentioned above, does have the attacking talent that continues to test the opposition goalkeeper. We do back the Tricky Trees to easily have more than 10 shots in this game. Our call is also for Chris Wood to have 2 or more shots on target for Forest. Callum Hudson-Odoi to have 2 shots in the game is also our call.
In terms of players to back to score for Nottingham Forest, we back Chris Wood to go into this game as the favourite to score. The Kiwi International’s goals towards the middle of last season were crucial for Nuno Santo’s cause. Wood was one of the most prolific strikers in the Premier League. He scored 11 goals in 16 games for Nuno, who joined midseason after replacing Steve Cooper. Bournemouth also happens to be one of the teams Chris Wood enjoys playing against. The Forest striker has 4 goals and 2 assists against the Cherries. He only has more goal involvements against West Ham and Wolves in the Premier League.
Bournemouth do have a big void in Solanke leaving with him scoring a hattrick in this exact same fixture last season. Iraola does have options, but it remains to be seen who starts. Semenyo is a good option to back for Bournemouth. Last season, Semenyo was their second-top scorer behind Solanke with 8 goals, so it's highly likely that he takes on the mantle of scoring goals.
Final Prediction:Nottingham Forest to beat AFC Bournemouth
Nottingham Forest Players List
Goalkeepers: Matt Turner, Matz Sels, Carlos Miguel dos Santos Pereira
Defenders: Joe Worrall, Nico Williams, Andrew Omobamidele, Omar Richards, Harry Toffolo, Willy Boly, Ola Aina, Zach Abbott, Nikola Milenkovic
Midfielders: Morgan Gibbs-White, Nicolas Dominquez, Ryan Yates, Danilo, Josh Bowler, Elliot Anderson, Ibrahim Sangare
Attackers: Taiwo Awoniyi, Chris Wood, Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Eric Moreira, Joao Silva, Emmanuel Dennis, Ui-Jo Hwang.
Nottingham Forest Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Matz Sels |
Goalkeeper |
|
Nico Williams |
Defender |
|
Willy Boly |
Defender |
|
Murillo |
Defender |
|
Ola Aina |
Defender |
|
Ibrahima Sangare |
Midfielder |
|
Ryan Yates |
Midfielder |
|
Morgan Gibbs-White |
Midfielder |
|
Callum Hudson-Odoi |
Midfielder |
|
Chris Wood |
Attacker |
|
Anthony Elanga |
Attacker |
Nottingham Forest Team Form(Last five games): W, D, L, W, D
AFC Bournemouth Player List
Goalkeepers: Neto, Will Dennis, Mark Travers, Alex Paulsen
Defenders: Dean Huijsen, Milos Kerkez, Chris Mepham, Adam Smith, James Hill, Marcos Senesi, Illia Zabarnyi, Max Aarons, Julian Araujo
Midfielders: Lewis Cook, David Brooks, Romain Favre, Ryan Christie, Alex Scott, Marcus Tavernier, Hamed Traore, Gavin Kilkenny, Philip Billing, Tyler Adams
Attackers:Dango Ouattara, Justin Kluivert, Enes Unal, Antoine Semenyo, Jaidon Anthony, Luis Sinesterra
AFC Bournemouth Playing XI
|
Player |
Role |
|
Neto |
Goalkeeper |
|
Adam Smith |
Defender |
|
Illia Zabarnyi |
Defender |
|
Marcos Senesi |
Defender |
|
Milos Kerkez |
Defender |
|
Ryan Christie |
Midfielder |
|
Alex Scott |
Midfielder |
|
Philip Billing |
Midfielder |
|
Antoine Semenyo |
Attacker |
|
Justin Kluivert |
Attacker |
|
Luis Sinisterra |
Attacker |
AFC Bournemouth Team Form(Last five games): W, W, D, D, L
Nottingham Forest vs AFC Bournemouth Head-To-Head
Matches Played:22
Nottingham Forest wins:6
AFC Bournemouth wins:9
Matches are drawn:7
Nottingham Forest vs AFC Bournemouth Betting Odds
Nottingham Forest to win the match (PARIMATCH): 2.48.
AFC Bournemouth to win the match (PARIMATCH): 2.80.
Match to end in a draw (PARIMATCH): 3.65.
The betting odds have been calculated based on team performances in previous matches, player records etc. Odds are subject to change.
Our Prediction
Favorites to win
Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, did quite well towards the end of last season. They have managed to keep the core of their squad intact with a few additions. At the moment, the reason why Forest edges Bournemouth is their attacking roster. The likes of Chris Wood, Elanga, and Hudson-Odoi are a stronger combination in comparison to what Bournemouth have at the moment. Hence we believe that Nottingham Forest might just edge past Bournemouth. We do envision this game to be a high-scoring affair. Our prediction is a 3-2 Nottingham Forest win on Saturday against the Cherries.
Parimatch