Simon Jordan makes Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland prediction after ‘accomplished’ Real Betis draw

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Nottingham Forest are facing their first Premier League fixture back after competing in the Europa League on Saturday, with Sunderland visiting the City Ground.

Forest drew 2-2 with Real Betis in Seville in what was both a magical night for supporters but also an impressive performance from Ange Postecoglou’s side, who had chances to claim all three points.

Many of the plaudits went to striker Igor Jesus for his brace, with Murillo praising Jesus on Instagram while watching from Nottingham due to an injury.

The Betis game was the Reds fans’ best glimpse of Postecoglou’s style of play, impressing Simon Jordan enough to make an early prediction for Saturday’s clash with Sunderland.

Simon Jordan makes Sunderland prediction after Real Betis showing

Returning from a European away day to then refocus on Premier League action is something that the Reds will have to manage, but Postecoglou’s Europa League experience with both Celtic and Tottenham should hopefully help.

In fact, Jordan isn’t expecting there to be any sort of Europa League hangover at the City Ground on Saturday, predicting Postecoglou to earn his first victory as Forest head coach.

He said on talkSPORT: “Forest have made a reasonably decent start to the season, the only game that they can look at themselves for is West Ham at home which came out of nowhere, which might well have been because of a disillusioned manager.

“[…] I would expect them to beat Sunderland on Saturday.[…] They played very well yesterday, for 50 minutes of that game they looked a very accomplished side, they moved the ball around really well and opened up Betis at will.”

If they can replicate the Betis display with more clinical finishing, Forest should have a strong chance against Sunderland, but Postecoglou must battle with the Reds’ poor recent record at the City Ground, too.

Nottingham Forest must fix their recent home record

Such was the success of last season under Nuno Espírito Santo, it’s easy to forget that, towards the end of the 24/25 campaign, some poor habits were beginning to creep into the squad.

Forest have struggled to keep clean sheets since the end of last season, but their record at the City Ground may be even more concerning to Postecoglou.

The Australian is yet to take charge of a home game, but the record before his arrival is a worrying one, with the most recent 0-3 defeat against West Ham fresh in the memory.

Clearly, the run of two losses against Brentford and Everton and the draw against Leicester harmed the Reds’ push for Champions League football, too, a set of results that cannot become regular occurrences.

If Postecoglou is to succeed at Forest, then he must find a way to end these issues at the City Ground and return it to a stadium that away sides fear.