Football betting tips: MNF
2.5pts Forest to win at 13/10 (bet365)
1pt Forest to win and under 2.5 goals at 15/4 (bet365, Betway, Boylesports)
1pt Nikola Milenkovic to score anytime at 14/1 (General)
0.5pt Murillo to score anytime at 22/1 (Paddy Power, Betfair)
0.5pt Morato to score anytime at 25/1 (Sky Bet)
BuildABet @ 29/1
- Forest to win
- Milenkovic to score anytime
- Milenkovic 2+ total shots
Monday night sees Nuno Espirito Santo return to Molineux for the first time since leaving Wolves in the summer of 2021.
In an exceptional four-year spell, the club reached heights last seen in the 1980s; sound familiar?
His Nottingham Forest side enter the second half of the season with a very realistic hope of finishing in the Premier League's top five and in all likelihood qualifying for the Champions League.
Perhaps the success of their former boss helped Wolves' owners to finally call time on Gary O'Neil's struggling tenure and dive back into the warm, cosy bed of Portuguese super agent Jorge Mendes.
Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
What are the best bets?
So far, so good for Wolves' return to their Iberian roots. Vitor Pereira has won at Leicester and at home to Manchester United, and secured a battling draw at Tottenham.
There was a degree of fortune in the latter two matches though, with Bruno Fernandes sent off for an already beleaguered United and Spurs in the midst of an injury crisis.
This will be a real step up in difficulty.
Wolves' task was made significantly harder by the news that they will now be without 10-goal top scorer Matheus Cunha after he was banned for two games for being involved in a fracas with Ipswich security staff last month.
Not ideal given only Liverpool have taken more points away from home than NOTTINGHAM FOREST who also happen to have won their last five league matches.
- CLICK HERE to back Nottingham Forest win with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Forest to win and Under 2.5 goals with Sky Bet
Taking the 13/10 about a FOREST WIN is advised, as is the 15/4 on FOREST TO WIN AND UNDER 2.5 GOALS; four of their six away victories have come in that manner.
As it was during his Wolves spell, organisation has been the cornerstone of Nuno's success at the City Ground, and with that has come a huge focus on set-pieces.
Only Crystal Palace (8) and Arsenal (10) have scored more goals from dead-balls than Forest (7) this season.
Wolves, meanwhile, are the only top-flight team to have conceded more than 10 times from set-plays, with 33% (14) of their goals conceded coming via those situations.
Often, it's opposition defenders causing the issues, with 11 different ones scoring against them already this season.
Nine of those have been centre-backs, which makes covering all of Forest's a very sensible play given the prices on offer.
Murillo nets his FIRST goal for Nottingham Forest! 🔥👊 pic.twitter.com/MzwWMxBYoL
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) November 10, 2024
MURILLO missed the win at Everton through injury but could return in place of fellow Brazilian MORATO at centre-back. With the duo a respective 22/1 and 25/1 TO SCORE ANYTIME, playing safe and backing both to small stakes is advised.
- CLICK HERE to back Murillo to score anytime with Sky Bet
- CLICK HERE to back Morato to score anytime with Sky Bet
They will start alongside NIKOLA MILENKOVIC whose 14/1 quote is more than enough to be backed to a larger stake.
He's already found the net twice this season, both in the last month, goals that had been coming - the Serbia international has generated 2.77 expected goals (xG) and had 18 attempts in 19 league appearances.
Wolves may be under new management, but their issues defending at free-kicks and corners are unlikely to be quickly solved, especially given their long-term list of defensive absentees.
Team news
Wolves are without suspended top scorer Cunha, adding to their long list of issues, meaning Jorgen Strand Larsen should start.
Andre is doubtful, and Mario Lemina is another player expected to be missing, joining Sasa Kalajdzic, Enso Gonzalez, Yerson Mosquera, Boubacar Traore, Pablo Sarabia and Toti Gomes on the sidelines.
Forest captain Ryan Yates is back from suspension, they should also have Murillo and Callum Hudson-Odoi available again.
Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare are long-term injuries.
Predicted line-ups
Wolves: Sa; Doherty, Bueno, Dawson; Semedo, Doyle, J. Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Hwang, Guedes; Larsen.
Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Match facts
- Wolves have lost just one of their last 12 league games against Nottingham Forest (W5 D6) and are unbeaten in all five against them in the Premier League (W1 D4).
- Nottingham Forest are winless in their last four top-flight away games against Wolves (D2 L2), since a 4-1 win in December 1980 under Brian Clough.
- Each of the last four Premier League meetings between Nottingham Forest and Wolves has finished as a draw – Forest last drew five consecutive league games against an opponent vs Rotherham (2003-2005) while Wolves last did so against Newcastle (2019-2021).
- Wolves have won their opening league match in just one of the last six calendar years (D3 L2), beating Manchester United 1-0 in 2022.
- Nottingham Forest lost 3-2 against Brentford in their opening league match of 2024 – they’ve not lost their first league game in consecutive calendar years since 2006/2007 in League One.
- Vitor Pereira has picked up seven points in his three Premier League games in charge of Wolves (W2 D1) – should they win this game, Pereira will have won more points (10) and games (3) than Gary O’Neil managed in his final 19 games in charge (W2 D3 L14 – 9 points).
- Nottingham Forest have won 37 points in 19 Premier League games this season, an improvement of 20 points from their total at this stage last season (17). Two of the last three teams with a 20+ point improvement at the halfway stage in consecutive seasons have then won the league – Chelsea in 2016-17 (+29 from 2015-16) and Leicester City in 2015-16 (+26 from 2014-15).
- Nottingham Forest have won their last five Premier League games – they haven’t won six in a row in the top-flight since a run of seven between May and September 1979 under Brian Clough, while they last did so within the same season in 1966-67 (two runs of six wins).
- Jørgen Strand Larsen has scored in six Premier League matches for Wolves this season (seven goals) but is yet to end on the winning side in any of them (D2 L4). In Premier League history, only Michael Kightly has ever scored in more games without winning (7 – D2 L5).
- Chris Wood has scored 22 goals in 35 Premier League games under Nuno EspÃrito Santo for Nottingham Forest – one more goal would see him be the top scoring Forest player under one manager in the Premier League, with Stan Collymore scoring 22 times under Frank Clark in 1994-95.
Odds correct at 2200 GMT (3/1/25)
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