Nottingham Forest and Norwich City meet in the English Championship, with both sides looking to bounce back from poor results and get their push for a play-off place back on track. Forest have been extremely inconsistent this season, with more defeats than victories and only twice stringing together back-to-back wins. They have won three and lost three of the last six, with their most recent match being a 1-0 defeat away to relegation-strugglers Birmingham City. However, they have decent home form and that will give them confidence of a positive result here. They have won their last three in the league as hosts, including a 4-0 victory over Queens Park Rangers at the start of the month. Interestingly, Forest are one of just two Championship teams yet to draw a match this season. Recent League Form – LWLWWL.
English Championship – Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff – Tuesday 21st November – 19:45 UK Time
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Draw Best Odd of: 12/5 at William Hill |
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Nottingham Forest
Norwich CityNorwich City
Norwich were seen by some as Championship title contenders at the start of the season, but their form has been atrocious in recent weeks. They sit in twelfth position, one point and two places below Forest, and are on a run of three defeats in four. Their most recent match was a 1-1 draw at home to Barnsley, in a fixture they were tipped to win. But, although most will say it’s two points dropped, at least they didn’t lose for a fourth consecutive match. Away from home, defeat at Bolton before the international break ended a run of four consecutive wins. So, despite their poor form, they have been playing well on their travels. If they are going to have any chance of challenging for promotion, they need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible. Recent League Form – DLLLWD.
Head to Head
These sides have met fifty times since 1977, with Forest holding the advantage with twenty-two victories. Norwich have won fifteen, and there have been thirteen draws. However, despite the Nottingham club having the better overall head to head record, Norwich have won the last three meetings. In fact, Forest have beaten Norwich just once in the last six meetings. Their most recent encounter came in February this year, when Forest had an extremely bad away day by having a man sent off during a 5-1 defeat. An interesting head to head statistic is that Norwich have been awarded a penalty in two of the last three meetings.
Betting Odds and Predictions
With both sides coming off the back of poor results, and being extremely close with regards league position and points accumulated, it was always going to be a tough fixture to predict. The betting odds reflect this, with Sky Bet pricing Nottingham Forest as a narrow favourite at odds of 16/11. Norwich City are priced at 9/5, and the draw is 12/5. We are going to rule the draw out. Only one of the last eleven meetings has finished level, and Forest are yet to draw a game all season. With the draw taken away, maybe the best option would be to back Forest or Norwich to win in the Double Chance market. This is priced at 2/7, and could provide the best chance of a profit.
If we were forced to pick a winner, we would opt for Norwich. A side of their quality shouldn’t be mid-table and we expect them to bounce back from their poor run with a convincing victory very soon. That win could come here, so odds of 17/10 are enticing. 62% of Forest’s home matches, and 50% of Norwich games away, have had over 2.5 goals. So, although Norwich haven’t been prolific in front of goal recently, and Forest failed to score last time out, statistics point to there being at least three goals in this match. Therefore, Over 2.5 Goals could be a good bet at odds of 8/11.
Looking at the head to head statistics, and forgetting about recent form, leads us to believe that both sides will score in this match. Both have netted in each of the last eight meetings, so Both Teams to Score looks a solid bet statistically at odds of 4/7. Norwich to win and BTTS looks a good bet for those looking for potential of a decent profit, at odds of 7/2.
Top Betting Tip
Our top betting tip, solely based on head to head statistics, is Both Teams to Score. This is priced at 4/7 with Sky Bet.