Nottingham Forest vs Southampton predictions: Forest may need time to cut down Saints
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- Forest are third after their 1-1 draw with Liverpool
- Southampton have lost 17 of their 21 Premier League games
- Recommended bet: Tie/Nottingham Forest Half Time/Full Time
Nottingham Forest will confidently expect that their unlikely title challenge is boosted by another three points off bottom club Southampton.
Time is running out for the Saints, who are now 10 points from safety following Thursday night's disappointing 3-1 defeat at Manchester United.
Team news
Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo may decide to freshen up his team following the 1-1 draw with Liverpool, with Nico Dominguez in line to replace either Ryan Yates or Elliot Anderson.
Danilo, now fully recovered from his broken ankle, could also be involved. Jota Silva or Ramon Sosa are options if Nuno wants to offer either Anthony Elanga or Callum Hudson-Odoi a breather.
Southampton are hoping the ankle injury which forced Tyler Dibling off at Old Trafford is not serious.
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The stats
Forest are unbeaten in eight matches having won the first seven in that sequence.
Chris Wood has scored 13 league goals this season and been first match scorer nine times.
Only five other sides have scored fewer home goals than Forest (12).
Southampton have lost 17 and won just one of their 21 league matches this season.
The Saints have thrown 17 points away from winning positions, including most recently in the 3-1 loss at Old Trafford.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest have plenty going for them against Southampton, not least the scheduling of this game.
Forest have had five days to recover following Tuesday night's 1-1 draw with Liverpool whereas Southampton were at Old Trafford as recently as Thursday losing 3-1 at Manchester United.
That was a heartbreaking loss for Ivan Juric's side, who had been by far the better side for an hour or more before a late Amad Diallo hat-trick turned the game on its head.
The defeat, their fourth in a row in the league, leaves them marooned at the foot of the table and their plight looks hopeless.
Under Juric, however, they seem more resilient than they were under Russell Martin with fewer defensive clangers from overplaying out from the back.
To that end, there is every reason to think they can hold up Forest just as they did when they met at St Mary's back in the summer, when Morgan Gibbs-White scored the only goal in a 1-0 win in the 70th minute.
Forest do not score many goals at home - just 12 in 10 fixtures - and will fully expect Saints to provide plenty of resistance.
The scheduling, though, suggests Southampton may face as the contest wears on so there is a case for looking at the Half Time/Full Time market and betting the Tie/Forest option at 29/10 with LiveScore Bet.
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