Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest Predictions

• Palace have won four and drawn two of their last six home Premier League games
• Forest have not beaten a top-half team on the road since their 1-0 win at Anfield last September
• Six of the last eight clashes of these clubs have finished all square, four finishing 1-1
• Fewer than three goals have been scored in four of Palace’s last six and three of Forest’s last six league games

Forest and Eagles entwined

There seems to be plenty going on at and between Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest, which should make Sunday’s Premier League clash at Selhurst Park spicier than ever before.

Forest’s European fortunes became entwined with the Eagles when UEFA threw the Londoners out of the Europa League for failing to meet their deadline for multi-club ownership restructuring. It’s fair to say that Forest owner Angelos Marinakis is not universally liked in Croydon, but he may have other things on his mind this weekend amid reports that the club are considering handing Nuno Espirito Santo his P45.

Nuno has been pretty up front about his dislike for Forest’s slow summer business, although spare a thought for Oliver Glasner here. The Palace boss now seems to be ready to speak up about the Eagles’ lack of activity, which could cost them dear if Marc Guehi followed Eberechi Eze out of the door in the final days of the window.

No Eze solution for Palace 

When looking at this game, it’s tough to envisage either side being as good as they were at their best last season. Only Liverpool won more away league matches than Forest last season, although the eventual champions were the only top-half club among the Tricky Trees’ 10 road victims.

Palace didn’t finish in the top half but they did finish impressively, picking up four of their total six home league wins in their final six attempts at Selhurst Park. And while they don’t appear to have a ready-made replacement for Eze, they can still boast plenty of quality in midfield plus one of the better wing-back pairings in the Premier League.

In-form striker Jean-Philippe Mateta, who scored his fifth goal in seven games as Palace beat Fredrikstad on Thursday, should still get enough service. Palace’s defence may lack top-class depth, but their three starting centre-backs should all play on Sunday.

Forest may be a bit fresher

Forest may be a bit fresher, for what that is worth at this early stage of the season, and they impressed when beating Brentford 3-1 at home last week. If the squad is unaffected by the Nuno rumours, they should be just as hard to beat as always.

The teams are so closely matched that the draw makes plenty of betting appeal, especially when you consider this fixture’s recent history. Six of the last eight meetings between these two have finished level with neither team having scored more than a goal in any of the last six.

A low-scoring stalemate looks the most probable outcome again and with four of those six recent draws finishing 1-1 that looks like a solid option in correct score betting.