Sheffield United vs Nottingham Forest Predictions & Tips

Sheffield United secured their place in the play-offs by winning their final three matches of the Championship regular season, culminating in a 4-0 thrashing of champions Fulham on the final day.

That victory over the Cottagers extended what is already an impressive home record for the Blades, as they have only lost one of their last 15 Championship matches at Bramall Lane.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side also boast a strong home record in recent meetings with Nottingham Forest, as they are unbeaten in eight clashes with the Tricky Trees in south Yorkshire, a run that dates back to April 2004.

Forest’s momentum has been dented

Nottingham Forest’s rise up the Championship standings under Steve Cooper has been well documented, with the former Swansea boss having guided his side from the bottom of the standings when he took over in September, to the cusp of automatic promotion.

However, Forest were pipped to a top-two finish after suffering a defeat to Bournemouth in their penultimate fixture of the regular season before following that up with a draw at Hull City on the final day.

The scars of missing out on automatic promotion may still be fresh for the Reds, and when you throw in that they have lost on three of their last five visits to Bramall Lane, it seems predicting a Sheff Utd win could be the way to go.

United’s to win by a narrow margin

Sheff Utd’s emphatic victory over Fulham is unlikely to be repeated on Saturday, with the Blades’ two previous wins having been by a one-goal margin.

All of Forest’s three league defeats in 2022 have also been by one goal and, worryingly for Cooper, they have all come away from home.

Only one of the last six meetings between these two sides have been won by more than one goal (Sheff Utd’s 2-0 win at Bramall Lane in 2019), so we are predicting a narrow 2-1 victory for the Blades in this one.