Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest: Keep faith with the visitors

Andy Tongue
22 September 2015

Dougie Freedman saw his side slip to an unlucky defeat at the hands of Middlesbrough last time out

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A bumper few days of live Championship action begins with Thursday's clash at The John Smith's Stadium and Andy Tongue is backing Forest's recent good form to earn three points for them and a nice return for us...

"They were unlucky to lose to Boro - the best team in the division - on Saturday and won at QPR and Birmingham, who will both be top-half sides come the end of the season, prior to that"

Back Forest to win at 3.052/1

Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest
Thursday, 19:45
Live on Sky Sports 5

Huddersfield

A week ago Chris Powell was fearing for his job as his side travelled to former club Charlton with three draws and three losses from their opening six games but a well-deserved 2-1 win in South London followed by a comprehensive 4-1 demolition of Bolton at home on Saturday has transformed their season.

The catalyst for this has been the return of the much-travelled Ishmael Miller to lead the forward line and the form in midfield of Emyr Huws. The Welshman, signed on loan from Wigan, to replace Jacob Butterfield who left for Derby on deadline day, curled home a free-kick at the Valley then scored twice and made a third at the weekend.

Nottingham Forest

Forest were left bemoaning some bad luck and worse finishing as they squandered a number of chances, including a missed penalty, in the 2-1 defeat at home to hot promotion favourites Middlesbrough in front of the cameras on Saturday. But Dougie Freedman wasn't downhearted at all afterwards and claimed his side will be up there chasing Boro come the end of the season if they carry on playing like that.

Chris O'Grady was a handful in attack again - linking up well with the midfield, though it will be interesting to see if Freedman follows his tactics of last week and rings the changes to give the likes of Dexter Blackstock and Jamie Ward their chance - as he did at Birmingham following the win over QPR.

Match Odds

Both sides come into this game in decent nick and you can back Huddersfield at 2.568/5, while Forest are 3.052/1 and the draw is 3.412/5. At those prices the visitors are the ones I want to have on-side. As mentioned above they were unlucky to lose to Boro - the best team in the division - on Saturday and won on the road at QPR and Birmingham, who will both be top-half sides come the end of the season, prior to that.

In contrast, although the Terriers have won their last two they were against a very poor Charlton side, a game I was at, and at home to struggling Bolton. That's not to belittle those victories but the form isn't as strong as Forest's recent performances.

My only hesitation is whether to back the Tricky Trees outright or in the draw no bet market where they are available at 2.166/5 but I think the visitors will have a point to prove after Saturday's disappointment and can head back from West Yorkshire with all three points.

Over/Under 2.5 goals

Unders is favoured here at 1.865/6 with overs available to back at 2.0621/20. The key to this market is probably whether Powell's side continue with the more positive approach with has brought two consecutive wins after their first six games, all of which featured under 2.5 goals, and culminated in a very poor defeat at Cardiff without an effort on target.

Forest haven't managed more than two goals in any of their eight league games this season either though they looked to have plenty of attacking ideas on Saturday and with the new signings starting to gel together nicely there is always the chance things could click for them in the final third here. That makes this a tricky call and I'm going to look elsewhere for my second recommended bet.

Half Time/Full Time

All four of Forest's goals away from home this season have come after the break (including those wins at Loftus Road and St. Andrew's) so they might have to be patient here to break down the home side, soaking up some early possession and pressure then going on the offensive as the game progresses. That makes Draw/Forest an attractive play in the Half Time/Full Time market at 7.413/2 and I'm going to back that, hoping for a very nice return from the evening's work.

Recommended Bets

Back Forest to win at 3.052/1
Back Draw/Forest in the Half Time/Full Time market at 7.413/2

2015/16 P/L

Wagered: 37 pts
Returned: 36.52 pts
P/L: -0.48 pts

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