Last updated September 22nd, 2023
If you count Sky Sports, there is televised Premier League action on Monday night (7.45pm), as top-level returnees Burnley travel to Nottingham Forest, who themselves were new to this level last season. In what is a big game for both, can either team get the desired result? This EPL match preview, with its betting tips, aims to clarify.
After last season’s survival, which didn’t always look likely, Nottingham Forest were always going to be up against it at the Emirates on match-day one. That task proved to be too tricky, as they went down by two goals to one, but some positives were taken and Steve Cooper’s men quickly bounced back with a 2-1 win over newly-promoted Sheffield United.
NFFC nearly followed that up with a win away at Old Trafford, racing into a two-goal lead, but the pressure eventually told and they lost by three goals to two. Not deterred, last time out, Forest went to Stamford Bridge and earned a hard-fought 0-1 win. Can they now win back-to-back for the first time this season?
Under Vincent Kompany, a new and improved Burnley team, one that is far more expansive and free-flowing than the previous Sean-Dyche inspired evolution, came into the Premier League with hopes of playing attractive football after bossing the Championship, though their approach has not quite worked yet. Sure, there has been some promising play, especially in the final third, but they have looked far too open, which is ultimately why they have lost three out of three, conceding five in defeat to a rampant Spurs side last time out. Will they now look to tighten up? Or perhaps Burnley will see this as an opportunity finally to impose themselves properly.
A steady start
It would be easy to criticise Steve Cooper’s NFFC men and say that they need to be more expansive and score more goals, but when a lesser side tries to play that way, much as Burnley have done during the early weeks of this season, they get wildly criticised. So it’s probably quite right that Nottingham Forest have tried to strike a balance. So far, they have offered a reasonable threat offensively, while they have not been too wobbly at the back, conceding less than two goals in two out of four, scoring at least once in four out of four, so it really has been nice and steady over the first few weeks.
Losing Brennan Johnson, who provided a real pacey outlet on the break is a blow, but Cooper will be hoping that Anthony Elanga, who recently arrived from Manchester United to score the winner on debut, can act as a replacement. In Taiwo Awoniyi, they also have a goal-getter, one who offers power, pace and a real physical threat, which is just what a team like Forest needs up top.
Should they alter their approach?
The visitors have come under scrutiny since re-entering the Premier League for trying to play too much football. Kompany’s men have been expansive, they have tried to play an attractive game, one that is high intensity and attack minded. Such an approach worked in the Championship, where they found that they could almost bully opponents and go in for the kill, but at this level, it has essentially left them a little too open to attack.
However, it is perhaps a bit too early to say that the newly promoted side cannot get results playing the way that Kompany quite clearly wants them to. After all, can you really judge them based on three games against very good teams? Man City will almost certainly retain their Premier League title, while Aston Villa and Spurs will both likely push, probably quite hard, for European football, so we shouldn’t be too quick to say that the Clarets need to change. Against teams in that bottom third of the league, Monday’s visitors may well yet get plenty of results, which is all they really need to do to stay in the league and thus have something to build on going forward.
Recent rivals
This won’t be the first time that the pair have faced each other this season. It won’t be the first time in the last month. On August 30 the teams played out an EFL Cup tie, which went the way of Burnley, who thanks to a late goal from the exciting Zeki Amdouni, won by a goal to nil at Saturday’s venue of the City Ground. That was their first competitive meeting since 2016.
Go for goals in the betting
From a betting point of view, goals could be the way to go here with the UK sports betting sites. Specifically, ‘Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score’ looks a decent bet.
For starters, Burnley’s rather tenacious and forward-pushing approach has left them involved in open games, which has bred goals. Three or more have been scored in each of their three games and both teams have scored in two of those three. The hosts have also shown that they can both score goals but aren’t overly secure at the back, with three or more goals being scored in three of their four, with both scoring in three of those four too.
Moreover, as both see this as a winnable game, neither are likely to adopt a back-foot approach, which should lend itself to goals being scored. Factor in that both have in-form strikers with Awoniyi and Foster, who have scored five between them already this season, and a bet on the goals to flow on Monday night starts to rate as the best option. So, for the betting tips for this Premier League match preview, we recommend the one:
- Over 2.5 Goals & Both Teams to Score @ 6/5 with Bet365 or William Hill.
Bradley Gibbs is an experienced football writer. He is an expert analyst on Premier League, and all global football leagues & tournaments, for Just Bookies. Bradley has been published by many respected outlets, including USA Betting and the Racing & Football Outlook. He has also written betting strategy guides.