Fulham
- Fulham’s long record against Nottingham Forest is dominant in recent Premier League seasons, with the Cottagers taking three of the last four meetings between these West London and East Midlands clubs.
- Fulham sit 14th in the Premier League table with 20 points from 16 games, slightly ahead of Forest who are 16th with 18 points in a congested bottom half of the table.
- Silva’s Fulham are much more open in their style, playing either a 4-4-2 or 4-2-4 system and overloading the wide areas when in possession before making runs through the middle from deep.
- The Cottagers have been boosted by the return of Harry Wilson, who is in prolific scoring form and tends to do his best work in the big games.
- Samuel Chukwueze is in even better form, having enjoyed a five-goal-involvement streak, but may be heading off to AFCON in the next few weeks alongside Alex Iwobi and Bassey, who will be big losses.
Nottingham Forest
- The Tricky Trees have shown promise under Sean Dyche, who has been disciplining and toughening up his squad since taking the helm in October.
- The Forest boss sets his team up in a 4-2-3-1 system that is compact in the first phase of build-up play, physical and aggressive in their mid-block to force turnovers and strike quickly on the counter.
- Forest will be without the influential Ibrahim Sangaré for the same reason so both Silva and Dyche will have to adjust their teams and tactics accordingly.
Head-to-Head
- Fulham have won 12 of their last 19 Premier League fixtures with Forest, winning three of their last four, including a 2-1 win at home.
- Forest have won three of their last five league games, but lost three times against Fulham.
Key Players
- Forest’s big two up front, Igor Jesus and Chris Wood, can bully defenders and hold the ball up well while Milenkovic can be a real threat from set-pieces.
- Morgan Gibbs-White is the creative heartbeat of Forest, regularly providing goals and assists, while Callum Hudson-Odoi has emerged as a joint top scorer and key wide threat.
- Fulham have a little more experience in Raúl Jiménez and Emile Smith Rowe and can make a late impact, with Jiménez having netted a crucial winner in the last month.
Betting Insights
- The home team are slight favourites with the bookies at 2.38, but Forest are worth a bet at 3.0 and the draw is also a tempting option at 3.15.
- Given the history of the fixture and Silva’s attacking philosophy, the Over 2.5 Goals option at 2.0 also looks fair.
Prediction
Backing Fulham to win 2-1 looks a good play here, as Forest are an improved side and will make a game of it, but Silva’s side should be a little too good for them on the night.
