Wolves vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Betting Preview

The Premier League is back in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Monday night, and our expert Nathan Joyes has provided his Wolves vs Nottingham Forest prediction, team news, lineups and fixtures preview.

Vitor Pereira has made the perfect start to life in the Premier League collecting seven points from a possible nine, including a 2-0 win against Manchester United. Arguably their recent 2-2 draw against Spurs on the road was more impressive, pulling them out of the bottom three.

Forest continued doing what they’ve been doing all season long, and made it five wins in a row with a comprehensive 2-0 victory against Everton. Sitting in third at the halfway stage, it’s safe to say their pre-season ambitions will have changed. Europe is now a real possibility for Nuno Santo’s side.

The Football Betting Podcast, powered by bettingexpert: OUT NOW!

Scott Thornton, Sam Ingram, Daniele Fisichella and Daniel Jenkins return for the first show of 2025…

(02:00) – The Festive Period & Trent Alexander-Arnold
(07:35) – New Management in Milan and Betting Resolutions
(13:00) – FIRST BET: Liverpool vs Manchester United
(22:45) – SECOND BET: Tottenham vs Newcastle
(25:55) – THIRD BET: Fiorentina vs Napoli
(31:44) – FOURTH BET: Bournemouth vs Everton
(37:14) – FIFTH BET: Wolves vs Nottingham Forest
(40:48) – SIXTH BET: Roma vs Lazio
(45:00) – POD TREBLE

Wolves vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Problems for Cunha-less hosts

England, Premier League, Monday, January 6th, 20:00 (UK)

Vitor Pereira’s decision to leave Saudi Arabia for his “dream job” in the Premier League has been rather successful in his first few weeks. Comfortable victories against Leicester City and Manchester United without conceding was followed up with a draw against Spurs in the capital.

The Portuguese coach has been a breath of fresh air since his arrival, and those seven points have dragged Wolves out of the relegation zone – a position that looked impossible before his arrival.

Without a doubt, Wolves’ main man has been their Brazilian forward Matheus Cunha, who has scored 10 Premier League goals in 19 appearances, as well as providing four assists. He’s scored twice under Pereira, but sadly for the hosts he won’t be available for the next five fixtures – including the match against Forest.

Hit with a chunky suspension due to his involvement in the ruckus after their Ipswich defeat, Wolves will have to adapt without their Brazilian – and this will arguably be Pereira’s biggest test to date.

His suspension will be music to Santo’s ears, as without their top goalscorer, Wolves will be limited in the final third. And although Forest may be without their star centre-back Murillo due to a slight knock, they coped just fine without him against Everton, keeping their third clean sheet in a row.

It’s a closed shop at the back

In fact, only Liverpool and Arsenal have conceded less than the East Midlands club this campaign – quite a remarkable achievement to date.

The visitors have their own talisman in Chris Wood, who has scored 11 Premier League goals, including a wonderfully taken lob against Everton last time out. The Kiwi international has been a major reason behind Forest’s success, and he will be looking to hurt Wolves’ backline on Monday evening.

But Forest are much more than Chris Wood despite his heroics this campaign. Morgan Gibbs-White has provided three assists in his last five matches, Anthony Elanga has three goals in his last five, while the likes of Elliot Anderson and Nico Dominguez have protected the defence incredibly well.

Happy to soak up the pressure and hit teams on the counter, Forest continue to defend incredibly well – and if they aren’t conceding, they continue to put themselves in great opportunities to pinch points.

Wolves have improved tremendously under Pereira since his arrival, but this will be a huge test without Cunha. Forest will need to be wary of both Hee-Chan Hwang and Jorgen Strand Larsen, but without their Brazilian linking up the play, their edge in front of goal might be missing.

Factoring in his absence, and the way in which Forest are putting in flawless performances, Santo’s side can make it six in a row at Molineux on Monday night.

• Wolves vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Forest -0.25 Asian Handicap
• Best Odds: 2.040
• Bookmaker: bet365
• Stake: 7/10

Wolves vs Nottingham Forest Prediction odds via bet365 as at 11:00, January 2nd, 2025. Odds may now differ.

Wolves vs Nottingham Forest Injuries, Team News and Predicted Lineups

As mentioned, Matheus Cunha’s absence will be a huge loss for the hosts. Having scored almost a third of their goals this campaign, Wolves’ recent good run of form might come to an end. They do, however, have Hee-Chan Hwang, who has scored two goals in his last two matches.

Forest fans will be nervously waiting for an update on their own Brazilian, Murillo, who injured himself in the warm up against Everton last time out. However, fellow Brazilian Morato came in and was excellent alongside Nikola Milenkovic, helping to keep yet another clean sheet.

Wolves possible starting lineup:
Sa; Ait-Nouri, Bueno, Dawson, Doherty, Semedo, Gomes, Andre, Bellegarde, Larsen, Hwang

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Morato, Milenkovic, Williams, Yates, Hudson-Odoi, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Dominguez, Wood

Safer Gambling

At bettingexpert, we always take a safe approach to gambling. We’ll never bet more than we can afford or chase losses. For more advice, head to our Safer Gambling hub.