BETTING GUIDE: West Ham vs Nottingham Forest match preview, team news and betting tip
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Reading Time: 3min | Tue. 06.01.26. | 13:58
Both sides arrive under pressure, winless in their last four matches, and knowing that dropped points here could deepen relegation fears as the campaign edges toward its midpoint
West Ham United and Nottingham Forest meet in an English Premier League clash that carries significant weight at the bottom end of the table.
The encounter takes place on Tuesday night at the London Stadium in Round 21 of the 2025/26 Premier League season, with kickoff scheduled at 11:00p.m. EAT.
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Both sides arrive under pressure, winless in their last four matches, and knowing that dropped points here could deepen relegation fears as the campaign edges toward its midpoint.
West Ham enter this fixture in 18th place with just 14 points from 20 matches, enduring a torrid run that has seen them go nine league games without a win.
Their most recent outing summed up their struggles, as they became the first team Wolves defeated this season, losing 3-0 at Molineux.
Across their last five league matches, the Hammers have scored only four goals while conceding 12, highlighting both attacking bluntness and defensive fragility.
At home, results have offered little comfort either, with West Ham conceding 23 goals at the London Stadium already and failing to record a single clean sheet there this season.
Nuno EspÃrito Santo’s side are also battling injury and availability concerns.
Lucas Paquetá and Jean-Clair Todibo remain doubts, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf are away on AFCON duty.
On the positive side, there were no fresh injuries over the weekend, and new signing Pablo Felipe could be in contention again.
Jarrod Bowen remains the main attacking threat with six league goals, while Mateus Fernandes has been one of the few consistent performers in midfield.
Nottingham Forest travel to London, sitting just above the drop zone in 17th place with 18 points.
While their league position is marginally healthier, form has dipped alarmingly, with four consecutive defeats against Fulham, Manchester City, Everton and Aston Villa. In those five most recent league games, Forest have scored five goals and conceded eight.
Away from home, their issues are even more pronounced: they have failed to score in five away league matches this season and are on a run of three straight road defeats.
Forest also faces selection issues, particularly in midfield and attack.
Chris Wood, Ryan Yates, and Willy Boly are all unavailable, while Callum Hudson-Odoi is a late fitness call.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels is expected to return after John Victor’s injury-hit display against Aston Villa.
Despite recent struggles, Forest still possesses creative outlets in Morgan Gibbs-White, their leading contributor with five goal involvements, and Elliot Anderson, whose progressive passing numbers have stood out even in defeat.
Historically, this fixture has produced goals, with five of the last six meetings seeing at least three goals scored.
West Ham won the reverse fixture 3-0 earlier in the season, but Forest had previously enjoyed a strong run against the Hammers, including a victory at the London Stadium last May.
Key Betting Pointers;
Nottingham has scored the second fewest goals this season (19).
West Ham has scored the joint fourth-fewest goals this season (21).
West Ham are goalless in three of their last four games.
Nottingham is goalless in two of their last three games and scored only two in that span.
West Ham have created the second-fewest big chances in the league (28).
Taking all factors into account, this matchup points toward a tense, low-scoring affair rather than an open shootout. With both attacks misfiring and confidence fragile, a draw looks a strong possibility.
Prediction: Under 2.5 Goals, with a 1-1 draw the most likely outcome
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