Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest Bet Builder Tips, Stats, Best Bets, Predictions

Last season’s surprise goalscoring package, the veteran striker Chris Wood put together a 20-goal Premier League campaign as Nottingham Forest charged into the European places. That form looks to be continuing this year also, with Wood bagging a brace on the opening weekend against Brentford.

Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park is never an easy fixture, but with the Eagles taking part in a European qualifier on Thursday night, and with the return leg in Norway next Thursday, this could be a good time for this fixture to land as far as the visitors are concerned.

The New Zealand international is the obvious candidate to score for the Tricky Trees and he comes into this fixture with a shot on target in 4 straight Premier League games, and having hit the target in 6 of his last 7 in the league.

Wood averaged 1.12 shots on target in the Premier League in 2024/25, and looks as sharp as ever. This should be a competitive affair, and the 33-year-old has every chance to test Dean Henderson in the Palace goal here.

Crystal Palace’s attacking unit is well-supported by their wing-backs, with Daniel Munoz providing plenty of threat down the right. Listed as a defender, Munoz is more of a right midfielder than anything, and his shot numbers reflect these attacking instincts.

The Colombia international has had at least one shot in 6 of his last 8 Premier League games for Crystal Palace, a run which includes a shot in Palace’s 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park at the back end of last season.

Munoz averaged exactly 1.0 shots per 90 in the Premier League last season, and looking back at the recent league fixtures of his opponents, there is every reason to think he will get at least one shot off here.

Forest’s left has been much more vulnerable than its right in recent games, with right-sided attackers taking 3 or more shots between them in 5 of their last 6 Premier League games. That run has even seen more defensively-minded players such as Vladimir Coufal taking 2 shots, whilst attacking full-backs like Matheus Nunes, Pedro Porro, James Justin, and Munoz himself have all had shots against Forest in their most recent fixtures.

Much like Forest relied on Chris Wood for goals last season, Palace are likely to be even more reliant on the goals of Jean-Philippe Mateta this season, with Eberechi Eze set to leave the club.

However, unlike Wood, we’re not backing Mateta in the shots markets here, instead backing him to win a foul at the very attractive price of 1.53. The big Frenchman is a real handful for defenders, and Palace often look to him to hold the ball up whilst they flood forward, a tactic that opens the door to winning plenty of fouls.

Mateta has won fouls in 6 of his last 7 Premier League starts, including a foul won the last time these two sides met, at Selhurst Park on May 6th. Across the whole of last season, Mateta averaged 0.98 fouls drawn per 90, so seeing him as high as this to win a foul is surprising.

He will be up against Forest centre-backs Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, who committed an average of 0.76 and 0.54 fouls per 90 in the Premier League last season. Murillo has fouled in 7 of his last 10 Premier League games, whilst Milenkovic has fouled in 4 of his last 6.

We’re rounding off this bet builder with a pick that looks like a very safe selection at a surprisingly generous price. Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White has won fouls in 9 of his last 10 Premier League games for the club, and in 16 of his last 19 starts in the top flight.

That run includes winning a foul at Selhurst Park in their most recent meeting, at the end of last season, and across the entirety of the last campaign, Gibbs-White averaged 1.28 fouls won per 90, a number topped by only three regular starters.

Nuno allows his captain to roam across the attacking third, Gibbs-White is a dangerous creator and Oliver Glasner will instruct his midfield to shut him down whenever possible. With a strong defensive focus on him, at least one foul on the England international looks likely.

The 25-year-old will be up against a Palace midfield containing Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada, who committed 0.81 and 1.61 fouls per 90 in the Premier League last season. Wharton has now fouled in 7 of his last 9 Premier League games, whilst Kamada has fouled in 5 straight starts, including twice against Forest when these two sides met in May.