Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest betting tips: Finalists in fine form
Published:
Championship play-off final: Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest betting tips
The line-up for next season’s Premier League will be completed on Sunday when Huddersfield and Nottingham Forest meet at Wembley in the Championship play-off final.
Former European champions Forest are looking to get back to the top flight for the first time since 1999 while Huddersfield are aiming to win the play-off final for the second time in six years.
Both teams and their supporters have plenty of reasons for confidence as they head down the M1 and we have studied the Championship play-off final odds to highlight some possible Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest betting tips.
Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest form
In the blue corner, Huddersfield finished the regular season as the nearest challengers to the top two of Fulham and Bournemouth.
Victory over Bristol City on the final day saw them secure third place and they have enjoyed seven wins during a nine-match unbeaten run.
The most recent of those was a 1-0 victory at home to Luton to complete a 2-1 aggregate win in the play-off semi-final thanks to a late goal by Jordan Rhodes as Huddersfield’s ability from set-pieces again got them over the line, as has often been the case this season.
JORDAN RHODES. WE LOVE YOU MORE THAN EVER 💙#htafc | #TerrierSpirit
— Huddersfield Town (@htafc) May 16, 2022
The Terriers have only suffered two league defeats since the start of December so look good value at 27/20 for promotion or 13/5 for victory in 90 minutes.
In the red corner, Forest have arguably been the team of the season since Steve Cooper took over.
A dismal start to the campaign saw Forest collect just one point from their first seven matches and resulted in the sacking of Chris Hughton.
The team have been revitalised under Cooper and were still in contention for automatic promotion until a 1-0 defeat at Bournemouth in their penultimate match of the regular season.
That was followed by a 1-1 draw at Hull on the final day which meant a semi-final against Sheffield United. All was going well when Forest took a 2-0 lead at Bramall Lane but they conceded a late goal in the first leg and then lost 2-1 at the City Ground.
🗣️ "Brice Samba saves it, and Forest are going to Wembley" ❤️
🌳🔴 #NFFC pic.twitter.com/j28z0w9A8h
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) May 18, 2022
A penalty shoot-out followed and goalkeeper Brice Samba was the hero as Forest secured a first trip to Wembley since the 1992 League Cup final, which Brian Clough’s men lost 1-0 to Manchester United.
Forest head there as the favourites too and are priced at 8/15 to go up and 11/10 to win in normal time.
Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest play-off record
The two teams could hardly have more contrasting records when it comes to the end-of-season promotion deciders.
Huddersfield have achieved promotion via the play-offs on four occasions, most recently in 2017 when they beat Reading on penalties after a goalless draw.
Incredibly, only three play-off finals have finished 0-0 after extra time and Huddersfield have been involved in all three, and on each occasion they have gone on to win the shoot-out.
That should ease the nerves of their fans if Sunday’s match goes the distance and 11/5 for extra time to be needed looks worth considering for Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest betting tips.
A goalless first half when so much is at stake also appeals at 7/5 while a goalless 90 minutes is 15/2.
Forest have never been promoted in four attempts in the play-offs and this is the first time they have reached the final.
Their most recent play-off appearance was in 2011 when they lost 3-1 on aggregate to a Swansea side managed by Brendan Rodgers.
Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest head to head
This is the fourth meeting between these teams this season and Forest have the edge 2-1.
The first at the John Smith’s Stadium in September was Forest’s first match since sacking Hughton and Steven Reid was placed in temporary charge.
The change made an immediate impact as Forest kick-started their season with a 2-0 win despite having just 29.5% possession.
🎞 Grabban's goal 🆚 Huddersfield was your September @weareboxt Goal of the Month winner 👏
🔜 Details of October's vote announced soon 🗳
🌳🔴 #NFFC pic.twitter.com/rMUN46J7ji
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) November 5, 2021
Cooper was in charge by the time the teams met again in December and this time Forest had the lion’s share of the ball but a 30th-minute goal by former Derby midfielder Duane Holmes secured a 1-0 win for Huddersfield.
The third meeting was in the fifth round of the FA Cup in March but the two managers took different approaches to the game with a home tie against Liverpool up for grabs in the quarter-finals.
While Cooper named almost a full-strength team, Town boss Carlos Corberan rested several of his key players and started the game without a recognised striker.
Despite that, the Terriers took a 13th-minute lead through Tom Lees but Forest hit back to win 2-1 with first-half goals from Sam Surridge and Ryan Yates.
Forest to win from behind again is 11/1 while the Tricky Trees are 12/5 to be leading at both half-time and full-time for the third time in four meetings.
Goalscorer odds
Forest are favourites for Wembley glory so it is perhaps no surprise that three of their players lead the way in the first goalscorer betting.
Brennan Johnson is the shortest price at 4/1 and has scored in each of Forest’s last three games, two of which were the first goal of the game, to take his tally to 19 goals in all competitions this season.
Strikers Surridge and Keinan Davis are both 5/1 to open the scoring while Huddersfield forwards Danny Ward and Rhodes are both 6/1.
While Forest arguably carry more of a threat in open play, it is at set-pieces where Huddersfield are most dangerous especially with Sorba Thomas back from injury.
Huddersfield may have just given their promotion hopes a huge boost through Harry Toffolo's late goal! 💥pic.twitter.com/ou4WSyU2ga
— Sky Sports (@SkySports) April 1, 2022
Lees and Levi Colwill, who are expected to start in the centre of defence, are 12/1 and 14/1 respectively to get on the scoresheet, and Lees already has five goals to his name.
Left-back Harry Toffolo is also worth considering for Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest betting tips at 12/1 to score or 28/1 for the opener.
He was a constant threat against Luton and has five goals in his last nine games, three of which opened the scoring.
Match Info
Where: Wembley Stadium
When: 16:30, Sunday 29th May
How to watch: Sky Sports
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
