Our selections for Monday night’s clash at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium include a positive result for the visitors with plenty of cards.
Two teams nearing the end of contrasting seasons clash in London on Easter Monday as struggling Tottenham host Nottingham Forest in the final fixture of the Premier League weekend.
Spurs are resigned to a bottom-half finish and the pressure continues to mount for boss Ange Postecoglou, who has presided over just 11 wins from 32 matches in the Premier League this season.
Forest, meanwhile, are dreaming of a top-five finish and the Champions League next season but they entered the weekend with the big guns snapping at their heels and manager Nuno Espirito Santo, himself a former Spurs gaffer, knows there is little margin for error.
Here are our football betting selections for Monday Night Football, which when combined form a 9/1 Bet Builder.
Tottenham v Nottingham Forest tips
Nottingham Forest or draw double chance 11/20
Under 11.5 corners 13/20
Over 2.5 cards 2/9
Ryan Yates to be carded 14/5
Tricky Trees have what it takes to avoid defeat
Back-to-back losses to Aston Villa and Everton have caused serious harm to Nottingham Forest’s hopes of a top-five finish but Nuno’s men had previously won three in a row and are more than capable of avoiding defeat at Spurs.
Forest ran out 1-0 winners when these teams clashed at the City Ground on December 26 and, since then, Tottenham have claimed maximum points in just four of their 14 matches in the Premier League.
Ange Postecoglou’s outfit were victorious in their most recent home match, although a 3-1 win over Southampton, who are set to go down in the record books as one of, if not the worst team in Premier League history, is not much to shout about.
Spurs have lost four of their last six league matches, failing to find the net against Manchester City, Fulham and Chelsea while also slipping to a 4-2 defeat at Wolves last weekend.
With so much more at stake for them, Forest will be highly motivated and can avoid defeat.
Corner count is expected to be on the low side
While Forest have chalked up 57 points this season, only Wolves and the three teams in the relegation spots had taken fewer corners than them through 32 matches and their flag-kicks could be on the low side again on Monday.
Conversely, Spurs have taken more corners (224) than any other team in the top flight but that statistic has slowed somewhat in recent outings.
Under 11.5 corners, which has landed in Tottenham’s last seven Premier League matches, and in four of Forest’s last five, looks a solid bet-builder option.
Yates could see a card in ill-tempered clash
These two teams have played out some fiery affairs over the last couple of seasons and two card-related bets appeal – over 2.5 match cards and Ryan Yates to be carded.
Their December fixture featured seven total cards, including a second yellow for ex-Forest defender Djed Spence, while previous meetings were also ill-tempered.
Last season, seven cards were shown in their first clash in Nottingham, including a red for Spurs’ Yves Bissouma, and this fixture last season featured six yellows.
Tough-tackling Forest midfielder Yates has been booked eight times this campaign and could fall foul of the referee, as was the case in December’s reverse fixture.
