Nottingham Forest vs Man Utd predictions & betting tips

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United predictions

Two teams looking to build some positive momentum following big Boxing Day wins clash on Saturday evening at the City Ground (5.30pm, Sky Sports Main Event). 

Manchester United make the trip to Nottingham Forest following a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Aston Villa in which they came from 2-0 down to win 3-2.

Forest know all about surrendering two-goal leads at Old Trafford having done exactly the same as Villa in the reverse fixture with United. 

Plenty has changed for Forest since that August encounter with Nuno Espirito Santo recently replacing Steve Cooper as head coach and getting an initial reaction from his new charges.

A 3-2 defeat at home to Bournemouth in Nuno’s first game was followed by a well-deserved 3-1 win at Newcastle on Boxing Day, a result which leaves Forest two points clear of the relegation zone.

Nuno’s next job is to fix Forest’s home form and he has a chance to do just that against an unconvincing United side that are favoured in the Premier League odds to end a run of four away games without a victory.

Forest can stand tall against United

Forest’s first league win since November 5th at Newcastle was much-needed with the bottom three looming large behind them and may prove the turning point in their season. 

Nuno’s switch to a slightly more direct, counter-attacking style paid off impressively and a similar approach should see them test United’s new-found resolve after their win against Villa.

It was a tale of two halves for the Red Devils, who were booed off at half-time on Tuesday before an impressive second-half response moved them into sixth place, six points off the top four.

Rasmus Hojlund opened his account in the Premier League with the winner against Villa and will hope to kick on now, but we’ve seen a few false dawns with United before under Erik ten Hag, who remains the favourite to be the next Premier League manager to be sacked.

United’s struggles to string together results and performances recently makes them tough to trust at Forest, even if they have won the last 11 meetings with the Tricky Trees in all competitions.

Ten Hag’s men are winless in four away from home in all competitions and haven’t scored in their last three Premier League outings on their travels.

Of their four away league wins this season, three have come against bottom four teams, while the other was a fortuitous 1-0 success at Fulham. 

They had issues on their travels last season too and don't hold much appeal at the prices on football betting sites, especially when factoring in a few defensive absentees. 

A run of four straight home defeats might put some off backing Forest, but they were unfortunate to lose to Bournemouth when Willy Boly was sent off early on in Nuno's first game in charge.

Forest are a better side than recent results suggest and Nuno appears to have quickly worked out how to get more out of his team than Cooper was doing in his final few games at the helm. 

The centre-back partnership of Murillo and Moussa Niakhate is solid, while the decision to give the creative Morgan Gibbs-White more freedom looks to be paying off. 

With Chris Wood having found some form after his hat-trick at Newcastle, Forest may hurt a United team with a soft underbelly that’s got a habit of conceding a lot of chances.

Forest are 5/4 in the draw no bet market on bet365, which means stakes will be returned if the game ends all square. That is an option for getting behind a Forest team that may be starting to get its act together.

Elanga may come back to haunt United

Former United youngster Anthony Elanga is another to have caught the eye under Nuno, building upon what was already a solid first season for Forest.

The Swede was one of the keys to victory at Newcastle, where he registered two assists having scored in the loss to Bournemouth. 

He’s been involved in more league goals than anyone else for Forest this season, registering four goals and five assists and will no doubt be eager to impress against his old side.

The 21-year-old may get chances to add to his goal involvement tally given United’s creaky defence, which shipped two against Forest in the first game and is sixth in the league for expected goals against (32.3), according to Fotmob.

Elanga averages close to two shots per game at home this season and is 6/4 with betting sites to have a hand in a goal on Saturday. 

Visitors may apply set-piece pressure

Saturday shapes up to be a difficult night for United, but there’s the potential for them to do something in the game given Forest are likely to be happy to cede possession. 

Forest have the fourth lowest possession per game average in the league, while United are ninth in that regard but struggle to do much with the ball in the main, other than force corners.

Only Arsenal (144) and Liverpool (126) have won more corners than United (121) this season and this looks an ideal match-up to take the visitors to win more corners than their opponents. 

Nottingham Forest have won 70 corners all term with only Sheffield United (67) earning fewer and the home side are averaging less than four per game across the season. 

United’s corners per game average does dip from 6.37 over the whole season when they are away but they are fancied to earn more corners here to complete our Nottingham Forest vs Man Utd predictions.

How to get a free bet on Forest vs United

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Chris is an experienced sports betting writer who has worked with most major bookmakers and national media outlets, such as Racing Post and ITN. He covers a wide range of sports with his favourites being NFL, rugby, football and Formula 1.