Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson has delivered a prediction on Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United in his latest Sportskeeda column. The Reds host the Magpies tomorrow night with both teams needing the points.
Forest are in pretty drab form at the moment. They are without a win in five games and are slipping back towards the Premier League’s relegation zone.
Last week, the Reds were beaten 3-1 at Tottenham. It means that Steve Cooper’s team have taken just six points and scored four goals away from home all season.
That simply won’t do and pressure is being piled on the team’s home form. As a result, Friday’s game is arguably bigger for Forest than it is for Newcastle who are chasing a Champions League place.
Merson concedes that this is a big game. He has delivered his verdict on who he thinks will win at the City Ground tomorrow night.
He told Sportskeeda: “This is a must-win game for both teams and I say that for two reasons. Forest are awful away from home, so they need to make their home games count to preserve their Premier League status.
“The City Ground is not an easy place to go to and get a win, so this won’t be straightforward for Newcastle.
“I think this game is hard to call, so I’m going for a 1-1 draw.”
Sky Sports pundit Merson predicts Forest v Newcastle
This does look like a hard game to call, particularly on paper. Both teams desperately need the points for different reasons and the game looks set to be an exciting one.
Forest haven’t lost at home since September. Then they were beaten 3-2 by Fulham and since then the City Ground has become a bit of a fortress for the Reds.
Steve Cooper is under no illusions that Forest are in big trouble if they can revive their away form. However, the next two games are at home and they must continue their strong form at fortress City Ground in the coming weeks.