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Right, so we've got Crystal Palace hosting Nottingham Forest on 11 October, and if you've been following these two, you'll know this is the sort of fixture that's been a draw machine for years. Eight of the last 11 meetings between these two have ended level, and the most recent one at Forest's ground in February was another 1-1. So the big question is, does that pattern hold, or does one side finally break through?
Let's start with the home side. Crystal Palace's last five has been a bit of a rollercoaster — two wins, one draw, two losses. The most recent one was a 0-2 defeat to Bristol City at home on 3 October, which stings a bit, and before that a 2-3 loss to Ipswich where they had a man sent off in the 34th minute. But they've also put on some decent displays: 4-0 against Lech Poznan in the Europa League and 3-0 to Middlesbrough in the League Cup. Over 20 home games, they've won 10, drawn 4, and lost 6, scoring 1.75 a game and keeping 9 clean sheets. That's a solid home record, even if the last few weeks haven't been the most convincing.
Now, Nottingham Forest on the road. Their away record over 20 games is 9 wins, 4 draws, 7 losses — 1.55 points a game, scoring 1.75 per outing and conceding 1.4. That's a decent away record, and they've shown they can score on the road: 2-1 at Aston Villa on 12 September and 2-2 at Liverpool on 29 August. But their last five overall has been a bit flat — one win, two draws, two losses — and they've failed to score in three of those five. Their last game was a 0-1 loss at home to Coventry on 19 September. So they're not flying, but they've got the away numbers to back up a decent trip.
The head-to-head is the real story here. Going back 13 years, Crystal Palace have won just 0 of 11 meetings, with 8 draws and 3 Forest wins. At Crystal Palace's ground specifically, the two older meetings both finished 1-1. And 9 of those 11 games went under 2.5 goals. This is a fixture that has a habit of producing low-scoring, cagey affairs.
The counter-argument for Palace is that their home record is genuinely strong — 10 wins in 20 — and they've shown they can score in bunches at home. Forest's recent form is patchy, and they've struggled to find the net, failing to score in three of their last five. But when the H2H pattern is this consistent, it's hard to bet against it.
Key Points:
- Crystal Palace's last 5: 2W 1D 2L, including a 0-2 home loss to Bristol City on 3 October
- Nottingham Forest's last 5: 1W 2D 2L, failing to score in 3 of those 5
- Head-to-head: 8 draws in 11 meetings, with 9 of 11 going under 2.5 goals
- Crystal Palace home record (20 games): 10W 4D 6L, 1.75 scored per game
- Nottingham Forest away record (20 games): 9W 4D 7L, 1.75 scored per game
With no available prices to work with for this one, I'm sitting this one out. No Bet.