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Right, so we've got Crystal Palace hosting Nottingham Forest on 11 October, and I'm already reaching for the braai tongs because this one's got me scratching my head in the best way possible.
The strongest case here leans toward the visitors. Nottingham Forest's away record over the last 20 away games is 9 wins, 4 draws and 7 losses, at 1.55 points per game, and they've failed to score in only 3 of those 20 outings, averaging 1.75 goals per game on the road. In their last five matches, they picked up a 2–1 win at Aston Villa and a 2–2 draw at Liverpool, which tells you they can handle big grounds and keep their feet in games. Their away defence has conceded 28 goals in 20 games, which is a bit leaky, but the attack keeps it interesting.
Crystal Palace's home record looks solid — 10 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses in 20 home games, 1.7 points per game, and 35 goals scored at home. But strip away the cup and friendly results and the picture gets murkier. In their last five matches, the 2–3 loss to Ipswich at home was the only non-cup, non-friendly game, and the 0–2 defeat to Bristol City eight days ago was a friendly. The 4–0 over Lech Poznan and the 3–0 over Middlesbrough were Europa League and League Cup respectively. So in recent home games outside of cups and friendlies, Palace have not won.
Now the counter-argument, and this is where it gets properly interesting. The head-to-head between these two is almost comically draw-heavy. In 11 meetings spanning 13 years, Crystal Palace have won zero, drawn eight, and lost three. At this specific ground, the last two meetings — both from older, historical record — were 1–1 draws. The most recent meeting, back in February 2026 at Nottingham Forest's ground, was also a 1–1. Nine of those 11 meetings finished under 2.5 goals. So the pattern here is low-scoring, tight, and very likely to end level. You can't argue with that, even if it makes for a boring evening on the couch.
Crystal Palace have also kept clean sheets in 9 of their last 20 home games, and in their last five matches overall, at least one team failed to score in four of those five. Nottingham Forest have failed to score in 3 of their last 5. Both teams are struggling to find consistent goalscoring in recent weeks, which feeds into that under-2.5 and draw narrative. The one thing that keeps me from calling this a lock is that Nottingham Forest's away attack has been firing at 1.75 per game, and Crystal Palace's home defence, while good over 20 games, has been tested in recent weeks. A 1–1 or 2–2 is very much in the cards.
Key Points:
- Nottingham Forest's away record: 9W 4D 7L in 20 games, 1.75 goals scored per game on the road
- Crystal Palace's recent home form: 2–3 loss to Ipswich; the 0–2 to Bristol City was a friendly
- Head-to-head: 8 draws in 11 meetings; 9 of 11 finished under 2.5 goals
- At this ground, the last two meetings (historical) were both 1–1 draws
- Crystal Palace have failed to score in 2 of their last 5 matches; Nottingham Forest in 3 of their last 5
With the available prices unable to be used for a recommendation on this fixture, I'm sitting this one out. The football points to a tight, low-scoring affair with a strong draw flavour, but there's no price I can put my name behind. No Bet.