We’ve got an important lower-table battle on tap in the Premier League on Sunday. Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, 13th and 15th in the table, respectively, desperately need points from this match. Who will get the upper hand here?
Crystal Palace are slight +160 moneyline favorites on DraftKings Sportsbook, with a draw at +235. Nottingham Forest’s moneyline is set at +165.
Crystal Palace vs. Nottingham Forest Prediction, Pick
Defense has been a real problem for Crystal Palace so far. They conceded multiple goals in their first four EPL matches and lost three of them. Luckily, the back line locked in for a 0-0 draw against Leeds United heading into the break, giving their defenders some confidence. The wing-backs are working so far—Tyrick Mitchell and Anan Khalaili have combined for three goals—but the back three have been a problem. Veterans Chris Richards and Takehiro Tomiyasu have to step up, or else they’ll be in trouble all season long.
Forest hasn’t had defensive problems. So far, they’ve allowed only five goals in five games, pulling off big results against Liverpool (draw), Tottenham (draw), and Aston Villa (win). If it wasn’t for a pair of 1-0 losses to Leeds and Coventry, Forest would be feeling awfully good about their early season. But the attack hasn’t been there, and they’ve scored only four goals this season. Morgan Gibbs-White continues to do incredible things as an attacking midfielder, but the rest of the team is lacking in results. It’s a nice time for Dan Ndoye and Liam Delap to step up and justify the big money spent on them; perhaps manager Oliver Glasner will have to press the Chris Wood button.
So much comes down to the matchup between Forest’s attack and Palace’s defense, especially out wide. With both teams using a 3-4-2-1 as their primary formation, a lot of pressure falls on the wide backs. Tyrick Mitchell and Anan Khalaili are no strangers to attacking, but they’ll need to track back often against this Forest side. Neco Williams and Daniel Muñoz haven’t turned their production into goal involvement so far, but they have the talent to do so. Whichever side gets better production from their wide backs has to like their chances to get all three points.
A key man here is Yéremi Pino. The young attacker has created plenty of chances early in the season, but none of his teammates have capitalized on his playmaking. It’ll be a tough task for Palace to break down Forest’s stout defense, but Pino’s passing and dribbling could solve that equation.
With the two teams feeling even here, I’ll bank on the fixture’s history. Palace haven’t beaten Forest since 2011 and haven’t won their last seven home tries against Nottingham. I’ll back the superior defense to pull away all three points, while hedging on the draw.
