Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest

Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest are set to lock horns at Selhurst Park in a bottom-half Premier League showdown to drop the curtain on the 2022/23 campaign.

Despite only winning twice in their last five Premier League games (D1, L2), Crystal Palace could equal their joint-highest 11th-place finish in the past eight seasons with a victory over Forest. Inspired by Roy Hodgson’s return to the helm in late March, the ‘Eagles’ have ensured top-flight survival with relative ease, mainly thanks to their home resurgence. Since a 1-0 loss to perennial champions Manchester City in early March, they’ve racked up three wins and a draw in four league outings at Selhurst under Hodgson’s management, netting 2+ goals in each victory. Impressively, they’ve never lost their final league match of the season in the top flight when finishing the campaign with a home contest (W7, D3), highlighting the optimism among London supporters.

In the meantime, Nottingham Forest stunned title-challenging Arsenal 1-0 at home last weekend to extend their Premier League status for another season after returning to the top flight for the first time since 1999. Though it feels like ancient history, the ‘Tricky Trees’ are unbeaten in their last seven top-flight encounters against Palace, including a run of three straight victories, bookended by a narrow 1-0 win in the reverse fixture in November. However, Steve Cooper’s men have earned a reputation as whipping boys when taking the road, winning a league-low seven points on hostile turf this term (W1, D4, L13). Since a 1-0 win at basement boys Southampton in January, they’ve managed just two draws on their last nine league travels (L7).