Blackburn vs. Nottingham Forest Predictions: Best bets from Ewood Park

Blackburn face Nottingham Forest in a huge game in the Championship on Wednesday evening at Ewood Park. The match will be shown live on sky sports Arena and our man @AnthonyEadson has provided us with his best bets for the action. He’s picked out two selections for the game which can both be backed with Betfair or Paddy Power.

My first selection on Wednesday comes from the player shots markets where I’ve taken a lean towards defender Jan Paul van Hecke having one or more shots in the match. The defender who’s on loan from Brighton has been a colossus at the back for Blackburn this season and has fast become a fans favourite with a passion for defending that is clear to see. 

Standing at 6ft 2, van Hecke can be a threat at set-pieces and this season he’s registered 12 shots in the league and has found the net on one occasion with a thumping header against Bournemouth in December. 

Those 12 shots have come in just 16 appearances this season which does give appeal to the 11/8 that is on show with both Betfair and Paddy Power. 

Blackburn have picked up more points per game on home soil than any other team in the Championship this season and I expect a positive reaction from Mowbray’s men after a disappointing showing against Swansea last weekend in a match where their back-three let off 10 shots, two of which were from van Hecke.

Blackburn made some strong signings in the January transfer window with one of those being Ryan Giles who made the switch to Ewood Park on loan. It may not be the most glamorous of prices at 3/1, but I fancy Giles to provide an assist anytime in the match. 

No player in the Championship this season has attempted more crosses than the 22-year-old with a remarkable 238 in just 22 appearances. That translates to 10.8 crosses per game on average and in his spell at Cardiff, Giles recorded nine assists in just 21 matches.

Over the course of this season Giles has provided 0.46 assists per 90 minutes which is higher than any other player in the division this campaign. On his debut against Swansea at the weekend Giles attempted 23 crosses for Rovers, and with Ben Brereton and Sam Gallagher potentially back this evening I feel the forwards will be relishing the delivery from their new teammate. 

That’s 11/8 & 3/1 pokes for this evening. Best of luck to anyone following and please gamble responsibly.