Nottingham Forest vs Leicester prediction: Hosts to take another step towards Champions League qualification

Nottingham Forest host Leicester City in the Premier League this weekend, with the home side still hunting Champions League qualification as they face the relegated Foxes.

Forest begin the weekend in sixth place on 61 points, just two points outside of the top five, and face a West Ham team in a poor run of form in their penultimate match before a final-day home match to come against Chelsea, who currently sit in fourth on 63 points.

If Nuno Espirito Santo’s side can win their next two games, it will come down to that final-day showdown with the Blues, so a win in each of their next two is vital if they are to qualify for Europe’s premier cup competition.

Leicester have had a torrid season since Ruud van Nistelrooy joined the club and they were relegated in April, with their recent form reading nine losses and one draw in their last 10.

And this has contributed to betting sites seeing this particular match as fairly one-sided, with early odds as low as 1/3 for Forest to win compared to 7/1 for a Foxes win and 17/4 for a draw.

Forest come into the game well in the hunt for European football, looking to book a place in the Champions League for the first time ahead of the 2025/26 season.

For much of the campaign Forest looked like the most likely to do so alongside champions Liverpool and Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, though a drop in form hit at a crucial time and now Santo’s side probably need three wins from three if they want to finish in the top five.

Luckily for them their first two matches come against two sides in the bottom four, with a game against West Ham following this one versus Leicester.

And with Leicester having lost nine of their last 10 matches – with just five wins and six draws all season – Forest are in a good position to get the final games of the season off to the best start possible.

Though the hosts themselves have lost three of their last five, they beat Leicester convincingly 3-1 in the reverse fixture, while the Foxes have conceded 21 goals in their last 10 games, so the result of this fixture is only pointing one way.

To that end, a wager on Nottingham Forest to win to nil could provide value at 5/4 with William Hill.

Nottingham Forest vs Leicester prediction 1: Nottingham Forest to win to nil - 5/4 William Hill

For a time earlier in the season, Chris Wood was the Premier League’s in-form striker, having scored 18 goals by mid-February.

However, since then the New Zealand striker has only managed to score one goal across eight appearances as his side chases a return to European Cup football for the first time since 1980.

Nevertheless, the 33-year-old has enjoyed playing Leicester this season, bagging a brace in the reverse fixture, and a match against the already relegated Foxes provides the perfect platform to get back into the goals.

Football betting sites seem to agree too, with Bet365 offering Wood at 4/5 to score anytime and take his tally for the season up to 20.

Nottingham Forest vs Leicester prediction 2: Chris Wood to score anytime - 4/5 Bet365

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