Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Prediction, Lineups and Betting Tip Predictions

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Prediction, Lineups and Betting Tip

Match Details: August 31st, 2025 | The City Ground, Nottingham | Premier League

Nottingham Forest will bid to maintain their unbeaten start to the 2025/26 Premier League season on Sunday, as they post a West Ham side fresh off the back of a 5-1 thumping at the hands of London rivals Chelsea.

Nottingham have been good value for their one win and one draw this season, and come up against a Hammers side that has conceded eight goals in just two league games, as well as a further three in their defeat to Wolves in the Carabao Cup.

Key Betting Tip: Nottingham Forest to win at odds of 1.56 on https://kwiff.com/sports/football/section/competitions/subsection/uefa-europa-league/event/11-8547400/?searchTerm=nottingham represents excellent value for the tip provided by our in-house tipsters.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Predicted Lineups

Nottingham Forest Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Matz Sels (GK); Neco Williams, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic, Ola Aina; Elliot Anderson, Ryan Yates; Omari Hutchinson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Dan Ndoye; Chris Wood.

Earning a comeback draw last time out against the also unbeaten Crystal Palace, Forest have done exceptionally well to make a steady start to the season despite some rocky goings-on behind the scenes at the City ground. Even with the rift between manager Nuno Santo and owner Evangelos Marinakis seemingly unbridgeable, the Portuguese coach has still managed to get his side playing some excellent football on the field.

Even better for Forest is the fact that apart from the absence of Nicolas Dominguez through a meniscus injury, they have a full complement of players ahead of this game, while

West Ham United Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Mads Hermansen (GK); Nayef Aguerd, Max Kilman, Jean-Clair Todibo; Malick Diouf, Guido Rodriguez, James Ward-Prowse, Kyle Walker-Peters; Lucas Paqueta, Jarrod Bowen; Callum Wilson.

Refusing to play a weakened team for West Ham’s midweek Carabao Cup loss to Wolves, Graham Potter may pay the price here, as he cannot afford to rotate the team much unless he is willing to risk another loss and further calls for him to be relieved of his job.

Though they showed more guts in the cup fixture, and scored multiple goals for the first time this season, they didn’t deserve a result - moreover, they come into this game without Luis Guilherme, George Earthy and Crysencio Summerville, who are all absent through injury.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Current League Standings

With two defeats in two games, and conceding eight goals in the process, West Ham sit rock bottom of the table with zero points and with a goal difference of -7. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest lie fifth, level on points with Chelsea, and one point ahead of Manchester City.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Head to Head Timeline

After 10 meetings between the two sides since 2011, they still cannot be separated - both have five wins each, and have not drawn with each other since 2003.

Recent Head to Head Meetings:

• 18/05/2025: West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest
• 02/11/2024: Nottingham Forest 3-0 West Ham
• 17/02/2024: Nottingham Forest 2-0 West Ham
• 12/11/2023: West Ham 3-2 Nottingham Forest
• 25/02/2023: West Ham 4-0 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest did the double over West Ham last season, dominating the home fixture before scraping a win in the away leg.

West Ham need to go back to the winter of 2023 to find their last win over Forest - on that occasion, goals from Paqueta, Bowen and Soucek were enough to outgun finishes from Anthony Elanga and Taiwo Awoniyi.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Recent Match Analysis

Nottingham Forest Last Five Games:

• Crystal Palace 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Premier League)
• Nottingham Forest 3-1 Brentford (Premier League)
• Nottingham Forest 0-0 Al Qadasiya (Club Friendly)
• Nottingham Forest 0-0 Fiorentina (Club Friendly)
• Birmingham City 1-0 Nottingham Forest (Club Friendly)

After some disappointing form in pre-season, Forest have brought their A-game to the first competitive fixtures of the campaign - a comprehensive win over Brentford and a draw that probably should have been a victory over Palace indicates that Forest are looking to force themselves into the European conversation once again after a fantastic 2024/25.

Learning to look after the ball more, they have averaged much more possession in the first two games of the season (56%) than last season's average (41%), showing their increasing ability to dictate play with the ball at their feet, as opposed to waiting for a slip up from their opponents.

West Ham United Last Five Games:

• Wolves 3-2 West Ham (Carabao Cup)
• West Ham 1-5 Chelsea (Premier League)
• Sunderland 3-0 West Ham (Premier League)
• West Ham p1-1 LOSC Lille (Club Friendly)
• AFC Bournemouth 0-2 West Ham (Club Friendly)

It is hard to pinpoint what has gone wrong in the early stages of the season for the Irons. Seemingly weak everywhere on the pitch, it is their midfield that most stands out as a weakness.

The trio of Paqueta, Ward-Prowse and Soucek have never been blessed with pace, but this season they all appear to have lost a step or two, which has allowed the opponents, including newly promoted Sunderland, to walk all over them.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Prediction

Our advanced algorithm analyses over 200 data points to generate these predictions, and as a result has deduced that there is a 53.3% chance that Nottingham Forest grab the win here, as they have emerged victorious from their last three clashes with Graham Potter’s side. With West Ham in the trenches, it should be a straight forward 2-0 win for the home side.. The model factors in current form, head-to-head records, player availability and tactical matchups.

Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United Betting Tip

Football Park’s Best Bet: Nottingham Forest to Win at odds of 1.56 on Kwiff - With Forest already looking comfortable with the way they are playing, and with Nuno Santo still in charge (for now), there is no real reason to bet against the home team here. West Ham certainly have quality, but their problems and their set up are stopping them from exploiting that potential to the full, pushing them into the relegation conversation. Nottingham Forest to win seems to be the only sensible bet here.

Players to Watch: Nottingham Forest vs West Ham United

Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest): For those who thought last season was a flash in the pan for Chris Wood, think again. With two goals on the opening day of the season, and his threat looking as real as ever, the New Zealander is now just nine goals away from hitting the 100 mark for Premier League goals - you wouldn’t bet against him finding the net multiple times against West Ham.

Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United): “Fuming” at the start to the season he and his side have made, Bowen managed to get into an altercation with a West Ham fan after the full time whistle in their loss to Wolves. While some will view this as a big red flag, I see it as a passionate response from a player that is shouldering all of the responsibility for his team's shortcomings. Captain of the side, it is Bowen’s lead that the rest of the squad are following, and as soon as the forward nets his first goal of the season, the odds are things will start to look slightly rosier.

Stadium Details: The City Ground, home of Nottingham Forest, has been home to the club since 1898, making it one of the oldest arenas in the Premier League. Capable of holding more than 30 ‘000 fans, it is a fantastic ground with an intimate feel and reliably intense atmosphere.