Notts Forest v Leeds: On-song visitors good underdog bet
Published:Leeds’s smash and grab victory over Middlesbrough last time out marked the dawning of a new era at the club in the best possible fashion and they will be looking for a sixth victory in seven Championship games at the City Ground.
They’re 15/8 underdogs to claim the spoils despite the rich vein of form they’re currently enjoying and, with Nottingham Forest having lost three of their last five, they stand every chance of getting the job done.
The hosts’ 2-0 reverse at Watford at the weekend was the second game in succession in which they failed to trouble the scorers and their 5/4 favouritism for this one looks as though it will prove unjustified.
Brian O’Driscoll heavily played down his team’s promotion chances at the start of the season, despite the huge investment their uber-rich owners pumped into the playing staff and their inconsistency at home suggests he was right to do so.
They sit just four points outside the play-off spots at Christmas but are yet to string together any significant run of form on their own patch and have followed up both of their previous home victories with defeats. They beat Burnley last time they took to the City Ground turf and this doesn’t bode well ahead of Leeds’ visit.
This pair of defeats both yielded over 2.5 goals; it’s 4/5 to happen again here and is very much a price to get involved with.
Something to encourage Forest fans is the fact that Leeds haven’t fared so well away from Elland Road of late, picking up just one win in their last seven on their travels.
They haven’t kept a single clean sheet on the road all season either, with only two teams managing to keep them at bay. This makes the 8/13 that both teams will be on target something to seriously consider regardless of the fact that it’s not a price to enable early retirement.
It’s the match result with both teams to score market that offers the best value though. For Forest to claim the spoils with both keepers beaten a princely 10/3 can be had, while backing Leeds to do the same will ensure a very merry Christmas at 9/2.
All odds and markets accurate as of publication’s time and date
