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Nottingham Forest and Fulham will meet at the City Ground in the 7th round of the Championship and it will be a game that many punters fear, when the first place takes on the last place. I have never been a fan of these myths so I`ll look to provide a solid analysis to bring us a good profit on this bet.
Nottingham Forest has yet to lose in the Championship this season, posting 4 wins and 2 draws. Last time out they finished tied with rivals Derby just a couple of days ago, 1-1 at home, it was one of the most evenly matched clashes I ever saw – the stats are telling, with the sides finishing tied in goals, possession, shots on target and shots wide. The hosts are playing really good football right now especially on the offensive end, scoring an average of 2 goals per contest and many pundits are considering them main favorites for promotion.
Fulham has been utterly disappointing and a poor result today could see Felix Magath getting sacked. The former Premier League outfit has just 1 point in 6 matches, conceded 13 goals and on top of this Fulham was also destroyed by Derby County 5-1 in the Capital One Cup. Even though they lost most key players after relegating, Fulham still has a good squad and it`s mind blowing how they can play so poorly. The good news is Bryan Ruiz will return for the visitors.
Team news & lineups
Forest will miss 2-3 players, Fulham doesn`t have new reported injuries, but all in all team news should not have an impact on this match.
Forest: Darlow – Hunt, Hobbs, Mancienne, Lichaj – Antonio, Tesche, Reid, Burke – Lansbury – Assombalonga
Fulham: Kiraly – Voser, Bodurov, Burn, Kavanagh – Hoogland, Parker, Hyndman – Ruiz, Smith, McCormack
I was tempted to go with a +0,5 handicap on Fulham here, as the odds are way too low on Forest and stats are not always everything, but I honestly fear the possibility of the players trying to force Magath out of the club. The German manager is well known for his strict, rough training regime and tough personality and the way Fulham is playing, something is going on there. After the analysis I`m confident the best bet on this match is over 2,5 goals. Forest is really sharp up front and will look to get back to dominating and scoring after being contained by Derby last round, while Fulham`s defense is just atrocious, it looks like they are not even trying. On the other hand Fulham has the individual quality to score as well, especially with Bryan Ruiz back in the lineup and if they will play at the level they can, than I would not be surprised if they find the net more than once. I also have the backup plan of Nottingham winning big if indeed the players and Magath don`t see eye to eye. My tip is over 2,5 goals to be scored. Prediction: Nottingham Forest – Fulham 2-2.
Pick: over 2,5
Odds: 1.83 @ Ladbrokes
Stake: 9
Possible profit: 7.47
Event date: 17 September
