AFC Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Predictions

• Bournemouth have won seven of 12 games against sides placed seventh or lower
• Forest have won once in eight games under Nuno, including a 3-2 home loss to Bournemouth
• The visitors have lost four of their last six league games
• Both teams have scored in seven of Forest’s eight games under Nuno

Can Forest shake poor form?

Nottingham Forest haven’t seen a major improvement in results since sacking Steve Cooper and replacing him with Nuno Espirito Santo. They’ve won just twice in eight games under the former Tottenham coach, losing four of six Premier League contests.

Santo built a reputation at Wolves for being a fantastic coach defensively, but Forest have managed a single clean sheet under his watch – a 0-0 draw at Championship Bristol City in the cup. Santo’s first game in charge of Forest saw a 3-2 home defeat to Bournemouth and they’re away to the South Coast side on Sunday.

Cherries searching for a victory

Bournemouth have had a tricky run of fixtures after their surge up the standings late last year. They’ve gone three Premier League games without a victory, having lost to Tottenham and Liverpool before drawing with West Ham on Thursday night.

The Cherries have been picking up wins, moving into the Fifth Round of the FA Cup after putting a combined eight goals past QPR and Swansea. They’ve at least been able to boost their confidence with cup wins in between tough league encounters.

Facing the league’s top teams has been a real thorn for the Cherries this season. They’ve lost all six clashes with the top four, and drawn three times against the sides who went into the weekend in fifth and sixth. Outside of those contests, they’ve won seven of 12 games, losing just three times.

Solanke to trouble Forest again

Forest have one of the league’s worst away records, suffering seven defeats on their travels this term. They can improve that down the line with visits to the sides below them still to come, but there’s little doubt they’re heading to a much stronger side here.

Bournemouth showed at the City Ground that they can overpower Forest and that should be the case again. Nuno hasn’t improved them, he’s arguably only made them a more fun side to watch. In their eight games under the new boss, Forest have seen both teams score on seven occasions. The Cherries are lacking a little defensively, but they should be strong enough to overcome conceding.

The hosts also have one of the Premier League’s form players in Dominic Solanke. He scored at West Ham on Thursday, which was his eighth goal in nine outings. The forward has scored nine goals across his last 10 league games, which includes a hat-trick when these two sides met in December. Back him for another goal.

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