Kick-off: 1500, 25/03/2023
Stadium: London Stadium
West Ham boss David Moyes is down but not out following a tough run of fixtures and must look to come out fighting against Nottingham Forest.
Just one win in 11 Premier League games has left the Hammers in the bottom three, but most of their recent results have been encouraging.
With the visitors having scored just three goals in 11 away matches, 33/20 for a home win to nil is our first West Ham vs Nottingham Forest prediction.
Moyes issues call to arms
West Ham slipped into the drop zone after suffering a 2-0 defeat at Tottenham, but Moyes insisted he is up for a relegation battle.
The Scot told Match of the Day: “We’ve been here before so I’m sure we can do it again.
“But I’m looking forward to the players who are joining me in the fight because that is going to be noticeable in the weeks to come. They’re all for it.”
Just one shot on target showed where the Hammers must seek to improve and captain Declan Rice suggested a more positive formation may be needed after playing five at the back.
It shouldn’t be forgotten that United had previously gone four games without defeat, though.
They beat Everton 2-0 here in the league and then prevailed by the same scoreline at Derby in the FA Cup.
Back-to-back 1-1 draws with Newcastle and Chelsea also raised hopes of a return to the form shown over the past two seasons, when finishing sixth and seventh.
If able to hold their nerve, we like 4/1 for the hosts to win by exactly two goals from the West Ham vs Nottingham Forest odds.
Last West Ham line-up: Fabianski, Ogbonna, Kehrer, Aguerd, Coufal, Soucek, Emerson, Rice, Antonio, Downes, Bowen.
West Ham pair Kurt Zouma (knee) and Maxwel Cornet (calf) are back in training. Lucas Pacqueta has also been doing some light work. Danny Ings could start.
Reds too reliant on home form?
Forest enjoyed yet another positive result in front of their own fans when drawing 1-1 with champions Manchester City last Saturday.
The Reds had to ride their luck as City dominated proceedings but stayed in the game by only conceding a Bernardo Silva goal on 41 minutes.
Following a string of missed chances after the break, including two from Erling Haaland, Chris Wood’s first strike for the club in the 83rd minute saw Forest take a point.
Steve Cooper commented: “For me, they are the best team in the world at domestic level; you have to sacrifice the ideals in the game to try and get something out of it.
“That is how it was, we put a plan in place to stay in the game as long as we could. They had loads of the ball and territory but we defended well.
“We managed to stay in the game and got the equaliser. We have to be satisfied. It is a positive result and one that will hopefully help.”
Forest will be more than satisfied with 13th place and a five-point buffer at this stage, but only six of their 25 points have been picked up on the road.
We fear the visitors may struggle to cope with the pace of Jarrod Bowen and 4/1 for him to break the deadlock is added to our West Ham vs Nottingham Forest betting tips.
Last Forest line-up: Navas, Worrall, Aurier, Lodi, Felipe, Shelvey, Colback, Gibbs-White, Freuler, Danilo, Johnson.
Serge Aurier (calf) is the latest addition to Forest’s injury list, joining Dean Henderson (thigh), Taiwo Awoniyi (groin), Wily Boly, Scott McKenna, Cheikhou Kouyate, Moussa Niakhate (all hamstring), Omar Richards (leg) and Giulian Biancone (ACL) on the sidelines.
Ryan Yates (illness) and Jesse Lingard (hamstring) could return.
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