Despite the last four fixtures between these two sides ending 1-1, Derby County are one of the main stories of the Championship this season. So, with the game being televised on Sky I thought I would have a look through the stats and sought out a bet builder for the game along with some predicted line-ups and a cheat sheet to start the weekend betting off.
Derby is on a 5 game unbeaten streak and has brought themselves within 8 points of safety in the championship, truly a remarkable feat considering the point deductions, totalling 21, they have accepted from the EFL this season. Despite the club’s turmoil off the pitch Wayne Rooney’s men continue to perform on it, picking up their 8th win of the season and climbing off the foot of the table for the first time this year in their last game against Sheffield United. Tom Lawrence was the standout performer as the man who seems only to score “worldies” stamped his authority on the game by scoring two outstanding goals.
Forest, on the other hand, seemed to have stumbled slightly towards the end of 2021 losing in consecutive games to Middlesbrough and Huddersfield. However, 2022 couldn’t have started better for Steve Copper’s men as late Lewis Grabban goals saw Forest beat a strong Arsenal side in the FA cup and Millwall in the league. Forest fans will be hoping they can build on this strong start to the year by beating their fellow East-Midlands rivals and with their next three fixtures all featuring teams in the bottom 5 of the league a playoff push is not out of the question.
For this game, I’ve picked out a bet builder at 6/1, along with a Cheat Sheet and predicted line-ups to help you with your bets. Best of Luck!!
Nottingham Forest v Derby Bet Builder Tips & Predictions
Home team over 1.5 cards + Away team over 1.5 cards
Nottingham Forest are the highest team in the league for cards against with their opposition averaging 2.68 per game a step above Coventry and Blackpool in second and third who average 2.29 and 2.27 respectively. Equally, as the cheat sheet suggests, the referee Tim Robinson averages a high number of cards. At 4.44 per game, Robinson ranks fourth among referee’s who have officiated more than 10 Championship fixtures this season.
For this reason, the game has the potential to be very card heavy with multiple players on each team picking up bookings. As a result, for my first two selections in this bet builder, I have backed over 1.5 cards for both the home and away teams.
Over 1.5 cards for the home team (Forest) is priced at 1.4 on Paddy Power. This seems well priced not only because of what has been mentioned previously but also Forest averages 2.15 cards per game in their 13 home matches this season.
For the away side (Derby) over 1.5 cards in the game is priced slightly lower at 1.2. Like the first selection, this seems to have a strong possibility of paying out as Derby has averaged 1.92 cards per game in their 26 fixtures this year. This coupled with Forest’s tendency to land their oppositions with cards suggests this is a solid selection to give the total bet builder odds a boost.
Nottingham Forest to win
The difference in league positions is not an indication of these two sides qualities as without their point deductions Derby would sit just two points behind Forest. However, despite Derby performing well at home, their performances on the road have been slightly lacklustre, only winning 2 games from 13 and failing to secure points in fixtures against relegation rivals such as Barnsley and Reading.
Equally, the Rams have struggled to find the net away from home scoring only 9 times. For this reason, combined with Forest’s strong January form I think Steve Cooper’s side will edge out their opposition on Saturday and secure the win. Paddy Power seems to agree as Forest to win is the strong favourite at 1.95 compared to 3.1 for the draw and 4.33 for a Derby win.
The Nottingham team has looked well regimented and strong defensively in their last two fixtures, failing to concede in both, hopefully, this continues and Forest will secure victory and land this selection of the bet builder.
Lewis Grabban to Score
Grabban has played well for Forest this year scoring 11 goals in the Championship averaging one every 151 minutes. Especially in his last two games, the 34-year-old Jamaican has proved he is the man Forest should look to when in need of a goal.
The cheat sheet seems to support this, as, despite new loan signing Keinan Davis, Grabban ranks first among Forest players in shots on target per game and second only to Zinkernagle in total shots. This combined with Forest’s struggles to find the net in recent games suggests that if Forest is likely to find the win which is needed for this bet builder to land, Grabban will most likely be the man needed to find the winning goal as he has done in their last two wins.
Grabban to score is priced at 2.4 on Paddy Power and I am hoping with how strong Forest’s defence has been, this selection along with the forest win will land with a strong performance from Grabban. Similarly, Grabban takes the Forest penalties which offers another avenue for not only a goal for this selection but a potential card to aid the progress of the second selection.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
Back my 6/1 Nottingham Forest v Derby Bet Builder below ⬇️
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Load the bet slip @ 6.64 at Paddy Power
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Sign up to Paddy Power and get a full refund if your first bet loses. Grab an account through the offer below and place £30 on my 6/1 Nottingham Forest vs Derby Bet Builder. Here are the two possible outcomes:
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Or you get your £30 stake back as cash
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets *
Nottingham Forrest vs Derby Predicted Lineups
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup:
Samba; Worrall, Cook, McKenna; Spence, Yates, Garner, Colback, Grabban, Johnson, Davis (3,4,3)
Derby County predicted lineup:
Allsopp; Byrne, Stearman, Davies, Forsyth, Bird, Knight, Thompson, Jóźwiak, Kazim-Richards, Lawrence (4,3,3)
Nottingham Forrest vs Derby Cheat Sheet
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Derby in the English Championship
📅 When is Nottingham Forest vs Derby? / Saturday, 22 January 2022, 12:30
🏟 Where is Nottingham Forest vs Derby? / City Ground (Nottingham)
📺 What TV Channel is Nottingham Forest vs Derby on? / Sky Sports Football
🟨 …And who is the referee for Nottingham Forest vs Derby? / Tim Robinson 🏴
