Brighton vs Nottingham Forest Prediction, Betting Tips & Team News: 16/1 Double on the South Coast
The international break is over, but while we still have to wait for the return of the Premier League, Saturday sees a huge FA Cup clash between Brighton and Nottingham Forest.
Our resident Brighton fan Matthew O'Regan has cast his (unbiased) eye over the match and has his best bets.
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest Prediction
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest Preview
After the 7-0 loss to Nottingham Forest in February, Brighton were in a difficult position. Sat mid-table and with nothing to show for their significant summer outlay, questions started to be asked of Fabian Hurzeler. The 32-year-old had shown tactical naivety in some games, particularly in the crushing defeat.
The Brighton hierarchy stuck by the German and are rightly reaping the rewards. A record-breaking six game winning run that included wins against Chelsea (x2), Newcastle, Fulham and Bournemouth was followed up by a 2-2 draw at Manchester City - a game the Seagulls perhaps should’ve won.
Albion have been struck with injuries all season, but Hurzeler finally seems to have a settled squad. It has been a successful first season in England for him, with his side just one point off of Champions League football and in an FA Cup quarter final. Brighton have certainly done it the hard way after their routine 0-4 win at Championship side Norwich in the third round. Chelsea were the visitors in the fourth round, with the hosts coming from a goal down to win 2-1, before a last-gasp Danny Welbeck goal in extra time saw them emerge victorious away at Newcastle.
The Reds have been the feel-good story of the Premier League and now sit third in the league with a five point cushion on Chelsea.
The turnaround has been spectacular, with Nuno’s side battling against relegation last season. The Portuguese gaffer has chosen to rotate in all three cup games - something he may decide against on Saturday. Despite beating Luton 2-0, Forest lost the xG battle 0.71-0.85, before needing penalties to scrape past League One Exeter and relegation batting Ipswich in previous rounds.
Forest will likely set up to frustrate - the epitome of a team Brighton hate facing, so an interesting tactical battle is expected.
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest Betting Tips
While the starting line-ups will be unpredictable due to the tough schedule before the international break and the constraints of playing for your country, Yankuba Minteh looks to be a player firmly in Hurzeler’s plan. The Gambian international possess incredible pace and tricky, as well as the passion and endeavour to defend - a key component to the German’s side. Out of possession, Minteh is quick to adapt to his right wing back position, with the right back tucking into centre back.
This position change has seen his tackles sky rocket. The 20-year-old was the best Brighton player in the 7-0 defeat and registered three tackles in a battling performance. Since then he has hit 4,5,1,7,2,2,5 tackles, with the one tackle coming in a dominant display against Southampton. With bet365’s super sub feature, we have insurance should he be substituted. Either Brajan Gruda or Solly March will replace Minteh off the bench, with the duo averaging 1.85 and 2.25 tackles p90 respectively.
Mats Wieffer has found game time hard to come by since joining Brighton. The form of those ahead of him, coupled with a series of injuries has meant he has just played 486 Premier League minutes. Despite an error that led to a Wolves goal, the Dutchmen has impressed in his cameos.
While Diego Gomez and Yasin Ayari are seemingly ahead of him in the pecking area, my intuition says that he will be afforded a rare start. The 7-0 loss in February mainly stemmed from a lack of physicality in midfield. With Gomez playing for Paraguay in midweek and Ayari more a midfield metronome, Hurzeler may call upon Wieffer.
The 25-year-old was booked in his three minute cameo against Manchester City and five minute spell against Bournemouth. Despite just 486 minutes in the Premier League, he has been shown four yellows for an average of 0.74 yellows per 90 and 2.96 fouls per 90. Nottingham Forest are packed with pace and power and look to play on the counter attacks, leading to 31 centre midfielders being booked - including a Brighton midfielder in both games.
Elliot Anderson has won plaudits for his performances since signing from Newcastle in the summer amidst PSR concerns for Eddie Howe’s side. The 22-year-old has been a mainstay in the Forest midfield, making 1.49 fouls per 90 and has been shown six yellow cards this season. 27 centre midfielders have been booked against Brighton this season in total and Anderson is an appealing price to make it 28.
Brighton vs Nottingham Team News
Brighton Team News
On the injury front, long term absentees James Milner, Ferdi Kadioglu, Jason Steele and Tariq Lamptey are set to miss out yet again.
It remains to be seen whether Joel Veltman, Lewis Dunk, Matt O’Riley or Solly March will be available.
Hurzeler will also be sweating on the fitness of a number of key players. Jan Paul-Van Hecke played all 210 minutes of the Netherlands international break, while Joao Pedro, Kaoru Mitoma, Pervis Estupinan, Yankuba Minteh and Carlos Baleba all playing a part in their countries games across the globe.
Nottingham Team News
Nottingham Forest have similar issues, while their injury list is all but clear, Chris Wood hobbled off for New Zealand while Murillo played for Brazil against Argentina on Tuesday night.
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest Lineups
The starting lineups for Brighton vs Nottingham Forest will be displayed in the graphic below once the team news has been announced.
| # | Starting XI | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bart Verbruggen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 30 | Pervis Josué Estupiñán Tenorio | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 4 | Adam Harry Webster | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 29 | Jan Paul van Hecke | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 41 | Jack Luca Hinshelwood | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 26 | Yasin Abbas Ayari | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | Carlos Noom Quomah Baleba | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Kaoru Mitoma | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Georginio Rutter | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 17 | Yankuba Minteh Moat | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 18 | Daniel Nii Tackie Mensah Welbeck | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Substitutes | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Simon Adingra | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 16 | Eiran Joe Cashin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | Lewis Carl Dunk | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Brajan Gruda | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 25 | Diego Alexander Gómez Amarilla | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 9 | João Pedro Junqueira de Jesus | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 37 | Thomas Peter Wayne McGill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Matthew Sean O'Riley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 60 | Charlie Tasker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Starting XI | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26 | Matz Willy Els Sels | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 7 | Neco Shay Williams | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 5 | Murillo Santiago Costa dos Santos | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 31 | Nikola Milenković | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 34 | Temitayo Olufisayo Olaoluwa Aina | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 | Elliot Anderson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 22 | Ryan James Yates | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 28 | Danilo dos Santos de Oliveira | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 10 | Morgan Anthony Gibbs-White | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 16 | Nicolás Martín Domínguez | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| 9 | Taiwo Micheal Awoniyi | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Substitutes | Fouls | Goals | Shots | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | Willy-Arnaud Zobo Boly | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 21 | Anthony David Junior Elanga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 20 | João Pedro Ferreira da Silva | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Callum James Hudson-Odoi | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 19 | Alexandre Moreno Lopera | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | Felipe Rodrigues da Silva | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | Ibrahim Sangaré | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Harry Stefano Toffolo | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 33 | Carlos Miguel dos Santos Pereira | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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Brighton vs Nottingham Forest Match Odds
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