Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest prediction, expected line-ups, how to watch and stats
Nottingham Forest will be looking to rekindle their Champions League dream when they travel to FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace on Monday night.
The title race is over, the relegation battle was almost non-existent, but the race for European football is making sure that the Premier League is not limping towards the finish line.
Five teams are battling for a top five finish and Forest are well and truly among that group and a win here could put them well on their way to Wednesday nights in Barcelona rather than Thursday nights in Bucharest.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s troops have had a disappointing week, getting knocked out of the FA Cup and losing at home to Brentford, but they have a quick chance to right those wrongs at Palace.
They may have lost three of their last four league games, but they are among the league’s away day specialists and have collected almost half of their points tally on the road.
Meanwhile, Palace are on their way to Wembley for a date under the arch with Man City after breezing through Aston Villa like a hurricane last weekend.
Oliver Glasner’s side are heading for what has become a regular mid-table finish and will be focussing on the cup final which is a week on Saturday and with nothing to play for in the league, you’d expect the Austrian to preserve some of their stars for that clash.
It will be intriguing to see how Palace line up against Forest and we have predictions, team news and all the details on where to watch below.
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest prediction
Nottingham Forest are well and truly a bogey team for Palace, with the London side winless in their last eight against the European contenders.
Despite a stutter in form recently, Forest are still in with a chance and they have had a large chunk of success on the road this season.
The way Forest play sets them up to pick up points on the road and we can see them getting a win here.
Anthony Elanga has been one of the more underrated stars of Forest’s season, with others like Chris Wood, Matz Sels and Morgan Gibbs-White getting the limelight.
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The Swede is key to Forest’s successful counter-attacking formula and has 15 Premier League goal involvements this season (6 G, 9 A). We think that the winger could extend that number at Forest on Monday night.
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Crystal Palace team news
With the FA Cup final on the horizon, Palace may rotate given that they have secured another season in the Premier League.
Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure are both ruled out through injury for the Eagles, while Matt Turner is ineligible to play his parent club.
Dean Henderson will start in goal, while expect captain Marc Guehi to keep his place and Jean-Phillippe Mateta to lead the line.
Crystal Palace likely line-up
(3-4-2-1) Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Munoz, Hughes, Wharton, Mitchel; Sarr, Eze; Mateta
Nottingham Forest team news
Nuno has a largely fit squad to pick from, with Callum Hudson-Odoi and Eric da Silva Moreira the only two members of his squad nursing knocks.
Expect Nicolas Dominguez to play in a more advanced role due to the absence of Hudson-Odoi and Ibrahim Sangare will come into the side.
The excellent defensive partnership of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic will continue in front of golden glove leader Matz Sels.
Nottingham Forest likely line-up
(4-2-3-1) Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Toffolo; Sangare, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Dominguez; Wood
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest: Where to watch and listen
The game will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, while it will also be streamed on Now. Radio commentary will be on Talksport.
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest stats
– Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last eight games against Crystal Palace (4W, 4D)
– Forest won the reverse fixture in October, Chris Wood scored the only goal in a 1-0 win at the City Ground
– Crystal Palace are without a win in their last four Premier League games (2D, 2L), while Forest have lost three of their last four
– Palace have won just five home games this season, only Everton and the relegated sides have registered fewer home wins this season
– Forest have won nine away fixtures in the Premier League this season, more than their last two seasons put together (5W)