Southampton vs Nottingham Forest Predictions

• Nottingham Forest did the double over Southampton during the 2022-23 season
• Southampton have taken just four points from their last 14 Premier League games
• Chris Wood has scored 12 of his 16 league goals for Nottingham Forest under Nuno Espirito Santo

Forest favoured for positive result on the south coast

Nottingham Forest led for a large proportion of their opening weekend clash with Bournemouth before having to settle for a point, but they can take the positives from that performance into Saturday’s trip to St Mary’s to face a Southampton side still finding their feet back in the Premier League.

The Saints did not disgrace themselves in losing 1-0 at Newcastle in their league opener, but they did play for over an hour against 10 men at St James’ Park following Fabian Schar’s sending off and they lacked an attacking spark that could become a recurring theme for them this season.

Forest did the double over Southampton when the teams last met during the 2022-23 campaign, winning 1-0 at St Mary’s before edging a seven-goal thriller at the City Ground – a result that all but confirmed the Saints’ relegation that season.

The visitors are certainly capable of taking all three points on Saturday, but given they have only won five of 38 away games since returning to the Premier League in 2022, the draw no bet market perhaps offers a worthwhile safety net.

Wood could settle tight clash

Taiwo Awoniyi was the scorer of the only goal of the game the last time Forest visited St Mary’s, but he has since been usurped as the club’s first-choice striker, with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo preferring Chris Wood to lead the line.

Wood had only scored four league goals in 11 months at Forest prior to Nuno’s arrival last December, but he has netted 12 times since, including against Bournemouth last weekend.

The New Zealand international has also scored in his last two appearances against Southampton, both of which came during his time at Newcastle, while he has four goal involvements across his last four games when facing the Saints.

All the signs are Wood will get on the scoresheet on the south coast, but he could be alone in doing that, given Southampton have failed to net in three of their last four top-flight home games.

The Saints have also taken just four points from their last 14 Premier League fixtures, while two of Forest’s five away wins since returning to the top flight have finished 1-0.