Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Betting Preview: Team News and Lineups Preview

Andoni Iroala’s team are in the hunt for European football heading into this Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest prediction preview, overseen by Josh Ingram. Both come into this in fine form and would back themselves against anyone right now. Nottingham Forest is third due to their exceptional counterattack style, where they conceded possession of the ball. It is two opposite styles facing off as Bournemouth presses high in the final third, the most in the country. It should be a fascinating game with these opposing styles and many creative players on the pitch. The two managers are some of the best in-game tacticians in the league, so it will be a battle from minute one.

Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Prediction:  Kluivert to keep his goalscoring run going

England, Premier League, Saturday, 25th, 15:00 (UK)

Bournemouth are unbeaten in eleven games, and Nottingham Forest are nine unbeaten in all competitions. These two come into this both in fine form, so separating the two in the 1X2 market didn’t appeal due to how short the Cherries are. Let’s avoid it altogether, as when the pair met in the reverse fixture, it was a free-flowing, fairly open game, and both probably wouldn’t mind a similar result. Instead, with the volume of creativity on the pitch in each team, chances should be plenty at either end. The goalscorer market appealed, particularly the leading man for Bournemouth at the moment, Justin Kluivert. 

Kluivert has been in a rich vein of form, scoring in three games on the spin. There has been a noticeable uptick in his shooting since the club’s recognised strikers were ruled out injured. It’s a very small sample size, but Kluivert has been shooting more. The Dutchman has taken three shots in all three games. The Cherries have a bare front four due to injuries. They don’t have anyone come onto the pitch apart from Daniel Jebbison, maybe for the last ten. The bonus when backing Kluivert to find the net is he is the designated penalty taker.

Nottingham Forest have been strong defensively this season, but they have shown some vulnerabilities when conceding in the last two games. The Saints managed to score twice at the City Ground, something they have struggled to do all season. They barely survived the Liverpool onslaught, where they had to rely on Matz Sels as Liverpool accumulated 2.00xG. Nuno’s sides typically limit teams to relatively low XG, but they still concede a fair number of shots, the eighth most in the league, with 13.23 per game. One thing you don’t have to do is offer this Bournemouth side a chance to shoot. They average 16.00 per game, the fourth most in the league. 

Kluivert was optimistic regarding his side’s chances this season after the Newcastle game: “Why not dream big and let’s see where we can end up…Our run is also beautiful, and that’s what we showed here today, that we are here to make an impression.” The Dutchman appears to have a lot of confidence in his side, and why not? They look very impressive. The hattrick took his tally in all competitions this season to 11 goals, ten of which are in the Premier League. 

• Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Justin Kluivert to score anytime (TRACKED BET) & Justin Kluivert to score First (TRACKED BET)
• Best Odds: 3.60 & 8.00
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stake: 8/10 (TRACKED BET) & 2/10 (TRACKED BET)

Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Prediction odds via bet365 as at 12:00, January 22nd, 2025. Odds may now differ.

Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Injuries, Team News and Possible Lineups Prediction:  Bournemouth are threadbare and Forest have an almost full complement

The number of players out injured at Bournemouth is growing by the week. The treatment room must be near capacity. Injuries are part of the game. It can feel extra cruel when your leading man up top, Evanilson, injures his Metatarsal, putting him out until April. Alongside the Brazilian, in regards to the Cherries’ attack, backup striker Enes Unal had to have surgery for an ACL injury. A long-term injury right after the other striker gets injured is grim. Marcus Tavernier, Alex Scott and Luis Sinisterra are all back in February. So they need to keep the options who are fit going forward for at least a few more weeks. 

Nuno has it quite good in regards to injuries at the moment. Many managers across the Premier League would be envious of squads’ availability. Callum Hudson-Odoi picked up a slight concert with Nuno, saying, ‘We have to assess him. I hope it is nothing, but he is stiff. He felt it in a sprint. He was still able to shoot on goal, so that was good. I hope it is nothing.’ The Englishman’s influence on the way the team plays is huge, with him and Elanga on either wing. Apart from this, it should be fully stronger with some possible rotation of Yates coming back into the starting lineup.

Bournemouth possible starting lineup:
Kepa; Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerekz; Adams, Christie, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo; Ouattara

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams; Yates, Anderson, Elanga, Gibbs-White, Silva; Wood

Match Stats: Bournemouth’s recent dominance

• Since being in the Premier League, these two have played each other five times, with Bournemouth winning two and three draws between them. All three draws have been 1-1, including this season’s meeting. 
• Antoine Semenyo was the Cherries saviour in the 86th minute to rescue the point in the season opener. 
• There have been nine Premier League hattricks this season, and only two players have had them. Erling Haaland and Justin Kluivert. The Dutchman’s first was three penalties in the same game, never seen before in this league. 

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