‘Simple’… Chris Sutton says he knows who will win out of Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest

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Sunday’s clash between Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest carries significant weight in the race for Champions League qualification.

The Premier League looks set for a fifth Champions League spot thanks to the division’s performance in the UEFA coefficient table, which could be hugely important to both Forest and Newcastle.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	26	18	7	1	62	26	36	61
2	ArsenalArsenal	25	15	8	2	51	22	29	53
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	25	14	5	6	41	29	12	47
4	Man CityManchester City	25	13	5	7	52	35	17	44
5	B’mouthBournemouth	25	12	7	6	44	29	15	43
6	ChelseaChelsea	25	12	7	6	47	34	13	43
7	NewcastleNewcastle	25	12	5	8	42	33	9	41

Sat in seventh, Newcastle are looking up at Forest in the race for European places but Sven Botman will miss the Forest game through injury, aiding Nuno Espirito Santo’s side.

The Portuguese coach will be hoping for a reaction to Forest’s defeat to Fulham, which is possible given that after the 5-0 Bournemouth defeat, Forest hit seven past Brighton to reaffirm their Champions League credentials.

This will be a positive omen for the travelling Reds fans but clearly not enough for Chris Sutton, who has given a fairly blunt prediction ahead of Sunday.

• READ MORE: Chris Wood scores, Murillo makes statement – three predictions for Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle

Chris Sutton’s ‘simple’ Nottingham Forest vs Newcastle prediction

A fairly accurate predictor, Sutton had Forest drawing 1-1 with Liverpool in January which turned out to be exactly right, which makes his prediction for the Newcastle clash a worrying one.

In his regular BBC Sport segment, Sutton said: “As the BBC’s predictions expert I always try to go with my head and not my heart. That’s what I am doing with this game, which is big for both teams in the battle for the top four.

“I’d love to say my boyhood club, Nottingham Forest, will respond to their defeat at Fulham, but this game is actually quite simple for me to predict because I am expecting Newcastle to bounce back from their woeful performance and result against Manchester City last weekend.

“I just think there will be a big reaction from Alexander Isak, who was kept really quiet by City, and a real response from their whole team.”

Eventually predicting a 2-0 home win for Newcastle, Sutton has faith in the Magpies completing a league double over Forest after their 3-1 win at the City Ground in November. However, it seems unfair to rule out Espirito Santo’s side from bouncing back in the very way Sutton thinks Newcastle will.

It is worth noting that the Forest squad didn’t quite cope with Newcastle in November, something that Espirito Santo will need to address.

Nottingham Forest had no answer to Newcastle in November

Forest fans slammed Anthony Taylor against Newcastle for missing a potential red card offence by Dan Burn but truthfully, the Forest coaching staff didn’t have an answer for Newcastle in November.

Murillo was praised by Espirito Santo for his efforts in the game as the Brazilian grabbed Forest’s single goal, but Newcastle had control of the match throughout.

With nearly twice the touches in the opposition box, the Magpies were in position to create chances much more often than Forest which didn’t help Wood’s case up front.

Newcastle also dominated physically, winning 59% of the aerial duels in the game, giving Forest little chance to mount a serious counterattack to threaten their visitors.

In the buildup to Sunday, Eddie Howe has hailed Wood’s form this season but to see the Kiwi’s prolific abilities, Forest will need to be much stronger physically than they were in November.