Nottingham Forest v Derby: Rams midfielder a great price to score
Published:There’s nothing quite like an east Midlands derby to get the juices flowing and the latest instalment is a difficult one to call with early Championship pace setters Nottingham Forest the slight favourites to defeat last season’s play-off losers Derby.
Ladbrokes call the contest marginally in Forest’s favour at 7/5, while the visiting Rams are deemed 9/5 chances to burst Stuart Pearce’s bubble and the draw is 12/5.
Here’s a trio of well researched punts you may wish to consider as you settle down on the couch to catch this televised Sunday lunchtime belter:
Derby: Draw No Bet @ evens
While it’s true the intense atmosphere of derbies often render form obsolete, the Rams’ 5-0 thrashing of Forest in the last league clash made it four wins from the last six east Midlands derbies.
Furthermore, Forest’s early position at the head of the table isn’t false, but it is slightly misleading given Sheffield Wednesday, currently in tenth, are the highest placed side Pearce’s men have faced in the opening five games.
If the result is hard to predict, a stab at Steve McClaren’s polished performers while conceding the draw could be a decent covering option on the result.
Total goals odd or even: Odd @ 9/10
Not a market which many like to explore, but this particular rivalry shows an overwhelming pattern of odd-goal scorelines.
Both games last season (1-0 and 5-0) would have landed this bet as would nine of the last ten clashes between the fierce geographical foes.
The prevalence of 1-0 scores plays a big role in that trend.
Craig Bryson to score anytime @ 7/2
Derby’s 2013/14 Player of the Year got off the mark during the visitors’ rout of Fulham a few games back and given he’s put his stamp on this fixture recently, the Scot rates a great bet to notch at the City Ground.
Neither set of fans will need reminding of Bryson’s hat-trick at Pride Park in March, while the all-action midfielder also scored the only goal on Derby’s last victorious trip to Forest, two seasons ago.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
