When you have a lineup like this, it's not just about the good ole game of kickball. It's quite a heady concoction of calculation, prediction, and just a hint of veteran intuition thrown in for that tangy aftertaste. And we're not even talking about the nippy British weather yet. So, get your calculators out or just trust sizeable gut.
In one corner, we have Newcastle United, having Martin Dúbravka pulling the strings from the goal with his 6.80 rating and a respectable 9 saves. For the forward pack, Alexander Isak and Jacob Murphy both boasting over a 7 rating mean business with 3 goals between them in the last month.
As for Nottingham Forest, they've got Matz Sels looking like a brick wall in the net carrying a 7.47 rating and an impressive 19 saves. Their top players, Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White, have been on fire lately, combining for a whopping 5 goals in the last four weeks, while showing serious passing accuracy, in the 80-87% range.
While Nottingham Forest has been winning where it counts, boasting a superior seasonal record, past performances between these two teams completely flip the script. The most recent three meetings saw Newcastle take two victories, though the two have been trading punches. They went 7 rounds with Brighton & Hove Albion and didn't even break a sweat. Then they stepped in the ring with Bournemouth, and boy, did that get ugly. Quite the rollercoaster ride so far, wouldn't you say?
Newcastle had some hard knocks in their recent games. Took a perfect square wallop from Manchester City, and the one against Fulham wasn't pretty either. But they did bounce back against Southampton and Wolverhampton, showing they still got some fight left in them.
So, all things considered, I'm going to shake up the cocktail mixer of recent form, seasonal records, individual heroics, and face-offs of yore, and finally, time to pour out a prediction.
Albert’s Prediction: Nottingham Forest by 2
