This Friday we have Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United in Premier League action under the floodlights at the City Ground. Both teams are sitting on zero points after one game and will be hoping to get their points tally increasing after this game.
Who will pick up what will be a vital three points on Friday? Our Premier League odds suggest the home side will emerge victorious but just.
Don’t miss our Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United free picks and predictions.
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United best odds
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United picks and predictions
The second matchweek of the 2023/24 Premier League season kicks off on Friday with Nottingham Forest vs. Sheffield United. It’s an intriguing matchup that features Nottingham Forest, who narrowly avoided relegation last season against Premier League new boys Sheffield United. The Blades came up having finished second to Burnley in the Championship and solidify their status in the league.
There’s been a number of incomings at Sheffield United including Gustavo Hamer, Vini Souza and Benie Traore but the real concern lies with the outgoings. Iliman Ndiaye, their best striker left to Marseille and they’ve also sold Sander Berge to Burnley, a club they’ll surely be competing with to avoid relegation. That doesn’t sit well with me, neither does the fact they’ve not managed to re-sign last year’s best loan players who are currently still at Man City.
Thankfully it’s been a quieter summer at the City Ground this year with the club bringing in just four players at the time of writing, compared to last year when they signed a whole squad of players. Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood are the big money signings but Matt Turner, USMNT keeper and backup at Arsenal, might be the shrewdest.
Both club’s transfer business is one of the main reasons behind my best bet for this game which is Nottingham Forest to win, available at -110. I’d ideally want slightly larger odds for this and -110 is probably right at the limit of what I’d be willing to bet but I do feel like Forest are the smarter choice here. It does always feel a little risky backing a team who won just nine Premier League games last season, but I think they’re in a far better position that Sheffield United.
The Forest ownership stuck with Steve Cooper last season despite bad results and it paid off with him keeping the club in the Premier League. It was always going to be difficult when the team were trying to bed in so many new signings but I really do believe that they have a talented manager in Cooper.
The lack of turnover in players this summer is a masterstroke and will help them keep the core of the team who did so well last time out. By adding some competition in key areas it will strengthen them without needing to totally rebuild the team again.
With Sheffield United it feels like they still have to get back into the transfer market, they’re missing a top striker and somebody who can replace Ndiaye’s goals and that really worries me. They lost 1-0 to a pretty boring Crystal Palace team last week, while Forest managed some impressive moments against Arsenal despite losing 2-1.
My best bet: Nottingham Forest to win (-110 at FanDuel)
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United same-game parlay
Nottingham Forest moneyline
Benie Traore to be booked
Ola Aina Over 0.5 shots
How about a +1400 Same-Game Parlay for Friday’s big Premier League clash? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered here.
First up we’re going to be going for our best bet which is Nottingham Forest to win. As mentioned above they were impressive at times against a great Arsenal team last week and I believe that as of this weekend their squad is in far better condition than that of Sheffield United, who have some work to do in the transfer market before it closes.
The second leg of the SGP is based around Benie Traore. The club signed the 20-year old forward from Hacken where the Ivorian bagged 15 goals in 41 appearances. He’s an interesting signing but what really leapt out at the weekend was how much he put himself about. His work rate couldn’t be faulted as he made two tackles across 90 minutes, however, he also committed five fouls. Somehow he managed to avoid a booking but if he commits five fouls again, or even half of that, there’s a high chance he gets a yellow card.
The final leg of this features new Forest signing Ola Aina. I’m backing the Nigerian to have Over 0.5 shots in the game. These don’t need to be on target, he just needs to take a shot. He played left wingback at the weekend and found himself in a number of attacking positions and got one shot off. That’s impressive given it was against Arsenal and you’d have to think he’ll have more attacking opportunities in this game. Last year at Torino he averaged 0.6 shots per game, which was impressive given the majority of his appearances came from the bench. This feels like a sneaky good bet.
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Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United spread and Over/Under analysis
I’m backing Nottingham Forest to win this one at -110 but if you can’t bring yourself to back them then you can get +260 on the draw or +370. I couldn’t blame anyone for feeling a little cautious backing Forest to win after last season but in front of a home crowd I expect them to take the three points.
The bookies are expecting a low scoring game with Under 2.5 goals the most likely option according to the sportsbooks at -145. It’s hard to argue when you consider that Forest haven’t really been free-scoring during their time in the Premier League and Sheffield United look like they still need more attacking additions.
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Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United game info
| Location: | City Ground, Nottingham England |
| Date: | Friday, August 18, 2023 |
| Time: | 2:45 p.m. ET |
| TV: | FUBO |
| Weather: | It’ll raining with temperatures in the mid-60s when this one kicks off on Friday. |
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United key injuries
Nottingham: Omar Richards RB (Out), Moussa Niakhate CB (Out), Taiwo Awoniyi STR (Questionable), Felipe CB (Questionable)
Sheffield United: John Fleck DM (Out), Rhian Brewster STR (Out), Jayden Bogle RM (Out), Rhys Norrington-Davies CB (Out)
Nottingham Forest vs Sheffield United recent form
| Teams | Last five matches |
|---|---|
 Nottingham Forest |
LXXXX |
 Sheffield United |
LXXXX |
