FC Utrecht v Nottingham Forest: Dyche's men to secure narrow win

• Utrecht have won just three of last 16

• Forest yet to concede in UEL under Dyche

• Back unspectacular Forest win at 7/52.40

• Paul Higham has bets for nine Europa League games in his tipsheet

• It's day one of the World Darts - read our tips here!

Utrecht v Nottingham Forest
Thursday 11 December, 17:45
Live on TNT Sports 1

Utrecht struggling to fight on all fronts

Having finished a highly impressive fourth in the Dutch Eredivisie last season, Ron Jans' Utrecht are finding it a bit tougher this time around. They started the campaign superbly, winning eight of their first ten matches as they flew through several rounds of Europa League qualifiers, but since that initial burst they have won just three out of 16 in league and cup.

That said Utrecht's record at De Galgenwaard is worthy of respect, as they have lost just twice and have won seven of 13. In the Europa League's league phase, they have lost 1-0 at home to Lyon and drawn 1-1 with a strong Porto team.
Utrecht are expected to be without injured midfielder Davy Van Den Berg, but keeper Barkas Vasileios should return after suspension.

Everton defeat a reminder Forest have work still to do

While Sean Dyche's impact since becoming Nottingham Forest manager has been a positive one, the weekend's 3-0 humbling at his old club Everton was a sign that there is still plenty of progress to be made. The former European champions are just two points above the Premier League dropzone, and are perhaps benefiting from the fact that both Burnley and Wolves seem to be spiraling towards their doom.

What Dyche has done is turn the club's European fortunes around. Home wins against Porto and Malmo sandwiched a 0-0 draw at Austrian champions Sturm Graz, and Forest are the only team not to concede a Europa League goal since Dyche took charge. That's a far cry from the chaos of Ange Postecoglou's brief reign, that saw five goals conceded across two games against Real Betis and Midtjylland.

Forest's big squad is being tested by a glut of injuries, but Dyche should still be able to field a strong line-up here. John Victor is likely to once again deputise in goal, and it's expected that the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White and Elliot Anderson will be rested ahead of Sunday's clash with Spurs. Skipper Ryan Yates is struggling with injury, while centre-back Murillo has an ongoing hamstring problem.

Forest's Premier League quality should show through

We can back Forest to win and Under 3.5 Goals on the Sportsbook at 7/52.40, and I think that's a fair bet. It's not a game that Forest can afford to settle for a draw in, as qualification is far from secure, but their three games under Dyche in the UEL have all featured fewer than four goals. Indeed, Utrecht's five league phase games have all seen an Under 3.5 Goals bet land, and they have scored just twice across those outings.

Even with a patched-up team, Forest should have enough quality to win this, and Dyche has given them much-needed structure since replacing Postecoglou.

Now read our other Europa League previews here!