Forest drew a total of nine games last season, a total bettered only by four sides. Other than wins against Burnley and Sheffield United, Forest developed a strong habit of drawing games against sides around them last season.
The underlying numbers from the first game are fairly similar for these two sides - 1.76xG for Southampton and 1.30xG for Forest - but Southampton weren't tested too heavily defensively given they played most of the game against ten men.
Southampton's opening half an hour against Newcastle was very impressive, though, and gives the impression they're very well prepared for this season.
Forest should have enough quality to avoid defeat in this one, but they'll likely be pushed close by a very well-coached team. Southampton 1-1 Nottingham Forest.
SOUTHAMPTON VS. NOTTINGHAM FOREST: PREDICTION, PREVIEW & BETTING ODDS
A game that both sides will be desperate not to lose takes place on the South Coast this weekend as Southampton face off against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Date: 24/08/2024
Kick-off time: 9:00 AM EST
Location: St Mary's Stadium, Southampton
Southampton currently sit 16th in the Premier League with 0 points. The Saints gained promotion from the Championship via the play-offs under manager Russell Martin last season and they enter this campaign fancied by many to drop straight back down to the Championship.
Saints fans are, though, quietly confident of their chances, and there were plenty of positives in their opening game against Newcastle to suggest they’ll do far more than just make up the numbers.
Southampton have made some interesting additions to their squad in the past week, signing 22-year-old striker Cameron Archer from Aston Villa for £15m and 20-year-old midfielder Lesley Ugochukwu on loan from Chelsea. Both are young but both are extremely talented, and once the two become integrated into the squad, on top of the club’s earlier signings, the squad will be looking very interesting.
It looks like further additions are likely, with Martin and co searching for additional quality to bolster the midfield. Midfielder Flynn Downes is a fine player, but Southampton’s central area is arguably short of guile and craft capable of affecting games at the top level, so if they can address that they’ll be in a very good position to tackle the relegation battle.
Nottingham Forest currently sit 8th in the Premier League with one point. Forest came into this season off the back of a forgettable and frustrating campaign last time out, where the Tricky Trees parted ways with beloved manager Steve Cooper as the side languished down in the relegation battle. Things improved slightly following the arrival of Nuno Espírito Santo, but Forest’s prospects still feel uncertain this time around.
The club massively toned it down in the transfer market this summer compared with their activity in the last two summer windows where, to the team’s detriment, they signed an excessive number of players, making it very tough for the manager to integrate them into the setup.
Midfielder Elliot Anderson arrived from Newcastle United while Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic was signed from Fiorentina in what were the club’s two marquee deals, with a handful of more unproven players also brought into the fold.
On paper Forest have more than enough to not only survive, but thrive in the Premier League. There are, though, question marks over whether or not this group can perform to their maximum as a collective under the current circumstances.
Games like Southampton away are the sort of fixtures Forest need to be winning if a repeat of last season is to be avoided, so this game could act as an early indicator as to the level of side the Reds are going to be under Nuno this season.
WHERE TO WATCH
You can catch this game on NBC in the US.
TEAM NEWS
Southampton Team News:
The Saints will once again be missing the injured trio of Gavin Bazunu, Adam Lallana and Kamaldeen Sulemana.New signing Lesley Ugochukwu should make the matchday squad for the first time, while Carlos Alcaraz could take Joe Aribo's spot in the starting XI.
Midfielder Danilo suffered a broken ankle against Bournemouth at the weekend and will miss out here, likely to be replaced by Ryan Yates.
Ola Aina is also a doubt after picking up a knock in that game. If deemed unfit, Harry Toffolo will start in his place.Further changes from the weekend are likely, with Nicolás Domínguez potentially coming in for Anthony Elanga.
Southampton’s season began with a tricky away trip to Newcastle United. There was an expectation that Southampton, still needing an acclimation period upon their return to the Premier League, would be no match for Newcastle, a team with top four aspirations, but that did not turn out to be the case.
Southampton started the game excellently, calmly baiting Newcastle’s press and comfortably playing out from the back while creating a number of promising attacking situations.
The Saints were then handed a huge helping hand when Newcastle centre-back Fabian Schär was shown a red card following an incidence of violent conduct involving Saints forward Ben Brereton Diaz.
However, it was Newcastle who took the lead just under 20 minutes later, when Southampton keeper Alex McCarthy was the perpetrator of a huge error as he passed the ball directly to Alexander Isak, who immediately squared the ball to Joelinton who then stuck the ball into the near corner on the stroke of half-time.
Southampton had plenty of possession and plenty of territory and created some good chances in the second half, and on balance they were well worth at least a point, but they didn’t quite have the killer instinct needed at this level.
Still, there were plenty of positives in the game from the Saints’ perspective and they’ll come into this game confident of righting the wrongs of last weekend.
Nottingham Forest’s Premier League opener came at home to Bournemouth in a game that finished 1-1. Forest took the lead in the first half through Chris Wood in a half they largely controlled, but much of that half was marred by a horrific-looking injury to Brazilian midfielder Danilo.
In the second half Forest were poor, and Bournemouth’s perpetual pressure eventually paid off in the 88th minute when Antoine Semenyo equalised after a poor clearance from Forest’s Harry Toffolo deflected off Murillo and into Semenyo’s path, with the winger making no mistake.
The result for Forest was neither good nor particularly poor, but the performance was largely short of what fans will demand this season. There’s plenty of time for improvement, but lingering question marks still remain.
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