Nottingham Forest v Tottenham: Spurs have the edge in City Ground contest
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Nottingham Forest v Tottenham betting tips and odds
Tottenham put their unbeaten start to the test on Sunday afternoon as 4/9 favourites to beat newly-promoted Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
Spurs are joint third in the Premier League table having taken seven points from their opening three games, while Forest are only outside the top 10 on goal difference.
It promises to be a cracker on the banks of the River Trent as we examine some of the issues and odds in our Nottingham Forest v Tottenham betting tips.
Nottingham Forest v Tottenham form
Harry Kane broke Sergio Aguero’s record for top-flight goals for one club when he netted his second of the season in Saturday’s 1-0 victory against Wolves and is now 11/2 in the Premier League top scorer odds to win the Golden Boot for a fourth time.
That winner came a week after his dramatic stoppage-time equaliser earned Spurs a point in a 2-2 draw with London rivals Chelsea, although the England captain failed to score in the 4-1 win against Southampton on the opening weekend of the season.
Spurs were not at their best last weekend, but Kane believes the team will only improve after a summer spending spree saw the arrivals of Richarlison, Yves Bissouma, Ivan Perisic and Djed Spence, plus the loan signing of Barcelona centre-back Clement Lenglet.
He said: “We’ve definitely strengthened. The mentality was starting to change towards the back end of last year. To get Champions League in the way we did and performing in high-pressure situations at the end of the season was really important.”
Next up: Nottingham Forest pic.twitter.com/xagn3ukJ7V
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 23, 2022
That said, manager Antonio Conte has almost exclusively started with the players that secured Champions League football last season, with his new signings tending to come on in the second half.
Conte’s decision to keep faith with last season’s main men is in stark contrast to opposite number Steve Cooper who has brought in 16 new players, seven of which started the 1-1 draw at Everton at the weekend when Brennan Johnson’s late goal was cancelled out by Demarai Gray two minutes from time to deny Forest back-to-back wins following a 1-0 victory over West Ham.
Cooper made 11 changes for Tuesday’s 3-0 Carabao Cup victory at Grimsby where Emmanuel Dennis made his debut following the winger’s £13million move from Watford, while Cheikhou Kouyate made his first start in the heart of defence.
“I’m proud of the team for how we played and the growth we have shown but at the same time disappointed we haven’t won. I saw a lot of good things today.” 🗣
Hear more from Steve Cooper 👇
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) August 20, 2022
With Cooper’s men still getting used to each other, Spurs to win and under 3.5 goals at 5/4 is the first of our Nottingham Forest v Tottenham betting tips bearing in mind all three of the hosts’ matches have involved three or fewer this season.
Spurs have been leading just once at the break so far and look a decent prospect to be drawing at half-time and winning the game at 3/1.
Nottingham Forest v Tottenham head to head
Forest are back in the Premier League after a 23-year absence so meetings between these clubs have been few and far between in the intervening years.
Their last encounter came in the third round of the League Cup eight years ago when Jorse Grant gave Forest a 61st-minute lead only for Ryan Mason, Roberto Soldado and Kane to seal a 3-1 win en route to the final which they lost to Chelsea.
The last top-flight contest came in the 1998-99 season when Spurs won both matches without conceding, an option which can be backed at 29/20 bearing in mind the north Londoners kept the third highest number of clean sheets in the previous campaign.
Nottingham Forest v Tottenham team news
Conte is likely to stick with a similar line-up to the one that started last weekend, so that means Kane spearheading an attack supported by Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski.
Full focus ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/cGV3cUyrhb
— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) August 23, 2022
Perisic impressed on the left and could keep his place instead of Ryan Sessegnon, but Bissouma may have to settle for a place on the bench again, with Pierre-Emile Hojberg and Rodrigo Bentancur operating in the heart of midfield in a 3-4-2-1 formation.
Cooper also went with a three-man defence at Goodison Park where Jesse Lingard played just behind Taiwo Awoniyi and Johnson, with Lewis O’Brien and Orel Managal in central midfield and Harry Toffolo and Neco Williams on the left and right respectively.
Goalscorer odds
It’s no surprise to see Kane installed as the 13/5 favourite to break the deadlock against the 6/1 outsiders and 10/11 just to get on the scoresheet.
Son, last season’s joint Golden Boot winner, has yet to to score this season, but is second in the betting at 16/5 and 23/20 in the two options.
Looking further afield, Kulusevksi scored five times last season and netted the fourth in a 4-1 win against Southampton. The Sweden winger is 5/1 to bag the game’s opening goal or 15/8 just to score in our Nottingham Forest v Tottenham betting tips.
Richarlison may get the chance to open his account from the bench and is 11/8 to breach Forest’s defence.
Dennis is the 15/2 favourite to strike the first goal from the Forest contingent or 14/5 to score, the same price as Awoniyi.
However, Johnson looks a more interesting prospect at 10/1 and 7/2 in the two markets having drawn first blood at Everton.
Match Info
Where: City Ground
When: 16:30, Sunday 28th August
How to watch: Sky Sports
All odds and markets correct as of date of publication
