Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest Prediction & Betting Tips - Premier League

Prediction published on 25/12/2022, 17:00  by Joseph King | Modified on 25/12/2022 at 17:00 in Premier League Predictions

Matchday 17 of the English Premier League signals the return of the world’s most exciting league after the one month break for the FIFA World Cup. Manchester United take on Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford on Sunday with the Red Devils looking to continue their hunt for the top four. Manchester United currently sit fifth in the standings with eight wins, two draws and four losses from their 14 matches, giving them 26 points and trailing fourth-place Spurs by three, in addition to having a game in hand. Things were going quite well for Erik ten Hag’s side before the break as United had ripped off five wins from their last six matches. They had also only experienced one loss in the last 12 matches across all competitions, with an impressive nine of those matches resulting in wins. 

They will hope to keep their good run of form going when they take on a Nottingham Forest side that had a relatively positive run of their own heading into the break. Forest had won their last two matches before splitting with a 1-0 home win over Crystal Palace in the league being their final result. They were able to continue their winning ways upon returning to competitive action with a comprehensive 4-1 away victory over Blackburn to advance to the quarter finals of the EFL Cup. The previous win against Palace was a huge result as it lifted Nottingham Forest off the bottom of the table into 18th-place and has put them just a point away from safety. A win in this match could potentially see them rise all the way up to 15th-place depending on other results.

Nottingham Forest have an ugly away record this season with just one goal scored in seven matches and failing to pick up a win. They have only earned three points out of a possible 21 and hold a -18 goal differential. The oddsmakers have Manchester United listed as massive favorites to get the win, which is understandable given the Red Devils record of four wins, one draw and one defeat in their six league matches at Old Trafford this season. United have also been on a recent hot streak of finding the back of the net in the first half, which we expect will continue into this match against their relegation zone opponents.