Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest tips: Free and easy pair set to serve up a thriller
- George Dempsey
- 27 May 2023
Safe from relegation, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest are free to enjoy the final day of the Premier League season at Selhurst Park.
Seven points separate Palace and Forest going into this clash.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Premier League, Sunday May 28, Kick-off 4:30pm
Predicted score
Suggested bets
Crystal Palace to win
Over 3.5 goals
Both teams to score
Key stats
Crystal Palace have averaged two goals per game across their last nine Premier League matches.
Since Roy Hodgson took charge, Crystal Palace have scored at least twice in six of their eight matches.
Nottingham Forest have conceded at least twice in their last eight Premier League away matches.
Nottingham Forest have scored at least one goal in five of their last six away matches, scoring twice at Anfield and Stamford Bridge.
Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest team news
Nathan Ferguson (muscle) and Wilfried Zaha (thigh) are unavailable for Sunday's match. James Tomkins (calf) and Luka Milivojevic (muscle) may also miss out.
Jeffrey Schlupp missed the last game due to personal reasons but could play a part on the final day of the season.
Giulian Biancone (knee), Dean Henderson (thigh), Chris Wood (thigh), Neco Williams (head), Omar Richards (calf) and Scott McKenna (shoulder) are all out.
Forest have a lengthy list of players who could recover in time. Keylor Navas (knock), Danilo (thigh), Gustavo Scarpa (calf), Jack Colback (head) and Jesse Lingard (achilles) are touch and go.
Verdict
Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest can enjoy a comfortable afternoon in the Selhurst Park sunshine on Sunday. Both teams are safe and will be free to express themselves in a dead rubber.
Whether or not they do that is another matter. You can never write off a match resembling pre-season, but you'd think after all these teams have been through, they may enjoy playing with freedom.
Crystal Palace did exactly that against Bournemouth and Fulham, taking aim at goal 28 times and scoring four goals.
Nottingham Forest have conceded at least two goals in their last eight away matches, so it seems a certainty that Roy Hodgson's men will continue their goalscoring form.
However, Steve Cooper's men have recently figured out how to score goals on their travels. Seven of their 10 away goals have come in their last six away matches.
Home and away, they have scored 13 times in their last six matches. Crystal Palace can match their ratio, averaging two goals per game through their last nine outings.
The absence of Wilfried Zaha should see Roy Hodgson field an attacking line-up containing Odsonne Edouard, Andre Ayew, Michael Olise and Eberechi Eze.
The former England manager has brought the best out of Palace's attacking players in recent weeks and you can imagine him imploring them to enjoy themselves on Sunday.
Equally, it's been such a long, hard season for Forest that Steve Cooper may release the shackles and encourage them to express themselves on the ball.
Stats can go out the window at the end of the season but we expect both sides to continue their recent scoring form and produce an entertaining end to the campaign.
