AFC Bournemouth vs Nottingham Forest Predictions

• Bournemouth have not lost to Forest in nine years, winning five and drawing four of their last nine clashes
• The Cherries have kept clean sheets in three of their last four home league games, winning two
• Forest have lost four of their last five games when they failed to score first

Forest feed off first goals

Saturday’s Premier League clash between Champions League-chasing Bournemouth and Nottingham Forest will probably go the way of the side that scores the first goal.

Forest’s success this season has been built on playing on the counter-attack with Nuno Espirito Santo often setting his team up to sit deep away from home. The Reds have won seven and lost only two of their away Premier League games and make the trip to Bournemouth off the back of four straight road wins.

Nuno’s side have been able to shut out their opponents once they have got their noses in front, recording three consecutive away clean sheets, but on the occasions that they have conceded first the games have been hard to recover.

Cherries are on a charge

One of the few occasions when they were not able to convert a lead into three points was when they faced Bournemouth at the City Ground back in August with Andoni Iraola’s side striking a late leveller through Antoine Semenyo.

The Cherries looked like they were going to be all right for another mid-table finish with they began the campaign with five defeats in their first 12 games, but an unbeaten 10-game run of six wins and four draws has taken them to within three points of fourth place.

Bournemouth’s 4-1 win over Newcastle last weekend was their best all-round performance of the season and arguably one of the best away displays of any Premier League side this term. Forest’s 1-0 win at Anfield was the benchmark before the Cherries annihilated a Magpies side that had won nine games in a row.

Kluivert enjoying a purple patch

Therefore, it’s hard to oppose Iraola’s side in this contest – despite Forest’s excellent general form. You have to look hard for the visitors vulnerabilities, but they were left hanging on against Southampton last Sunday and did lose an important player to injury in the game.

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s likely absence with a groin injury will offer a chance to Jota Silva to step into the side but the Portuguese winger has not delivered much yet. Meanwhile, Bournemouth appear to be coping without Enes Unal and Evanilson for the time being with Justin Kluivert looking like the main goalscoring threat.

The Dutchman’s purple patch, which has seen him score five goals in his last three games, is another reason to side with the home team here with the Draw no Bet option offering some comfort for bettors wary of taking on Forest head on.