Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Matchweek 3

Two winless Premier League clubs collide at the City Ground on Saturday as Oliver Glasner’s Nottingham Forest host Roberto De Zerbi’s Tottenham Hotspur in Matchweek 3. Forest have at least opened their account with a point from Anfield, but Spurs are still searching for their first goal of the season after back-to-back defeats. AIProPrediction breaks down the AI picks for this early-season six-pointer as part of our Premier League predictions coverage.

🤖 AI Quick Predictions — Win Confidence

📋 Match Information

🌳 Nottingham Forest Analysis — New Coach, Familiar Grind

Oliver Glasner took charge at the City Ground this summer after leaving Crystal Palace, where he delivered an FA Cup, a Community Shield and a Europa Conference League title. His first two Premier League games in charge of Forest have brought a narrow 0-1 home defeat to Leeds United and a battling 2-2 draw at Anfield, where Dan Ndoye and a Morgan Gibbs-White penalty twice put Forest ahead before Liverpool substitute Víctor Muñoz equalised late on.

Forest also spent big over the summer, breaking their transfer record for striker Liam Delap, while adding Xavier Schlager, Steven Benda, Ousmane Diomande and deadline-day signing Daniel Munoz. Reports ahead of this match suggest Glasner may still favour Igor Jesus as his central striker over Delap, with Ola Aina continuing at right wing-back in a 3-4-2-1 shape.

Forest are also managing a Europa League campaign this season after reaching the semi-finals of the competition last term and qualifying again via their seventh-place Premier League finish in 2025-26, so squad rotation and fatigue are factors as the fixture list stacks up. A home win here would be a timely platform-setter for Glasner’s project.

⚪ Tottenham Analysis — Winless and Goalless

Roberto De Zerbi’s first full season in charge has started as badly as it could have. Spurs lost 3-0 away at Brentford on the opening weekend and then fell 0-2 at home to Newcastle United in Matchweek 2, meaning they have opened a Premier League campaign with back-to-back defeats without scoring a single goal — reportedly a first in the club’s league history.

De Zerbi has had a full summer to reshape the squad, bringing in Andy Robertson, Marcos Senesi, Jan Paul van Hecke, Martin Dubravka, Mateus Fernandes, Sandro Tonali, Savio, Omar Marmoush, Mykhailo Mudryk and Tosin Adarabioyo. Mohammed Kudus is expected to start for the first time this weekend as De Zerbi looks for a spark in a 4-3-3 shape, but the pressure is already building after two damaging results.

Tottenham are not involved in Europe this season — for the first time since 2023-24 — after two 17th-place Premier League finishes on the back of their 2025 Europa League triumph, so there is no continental distraction; every bit of focus should be on ending the goal drought at the City Ground. [NEEDS VERIFICATION: specific team-news/injury list for this matchday was not confirmed at time of writing].

📊 Head-to-Head & Key Stats

Forest swept both meetings with Tottenham last season, winning 3-0 at the City Ground (a Callum Hudson-Odoi brace) and 3-0 away (Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi on target), and the last 10 head-to-head meetings between the clubs are split evenly at 5 wins each with no draws — this fixture rarely settles for a stalemate.

🧠 Tactical Preview — Confidence vs Crisis

Glasner’s Forest set up in a 3-4-2-1 that leans on Ola Aina’s overlaps and quick transitions through Gibbs-White and Ndoye in the two “10” positions, with Igor Jesus tasked with holding the ball up ahead of the club-record signing Delap. Against a Spurs side low on confidence, Forest’s plan should be to press the wing-backs early and force turnovers before Tottenham’s summer signings settle into rhythm.

De Zerbi’s 4-3-3 is built to dominate the ball, but his new-look Spurs have managed just one goal-worthy chance in two matches so far and looked short of cohesion in both defeats. Introducing Mohammed Kudus for his first start could add unpredictability in the final third, but if Sandro Tonali and the reshaped midfield can’t control tempo against a well-organised Forest press, another slow start is a real risk.

💰 Full Betting Advice — HDP, OU & BTS

1. Asian Handicap — Nottingham Forest -0.5 (58% confidence): Home advantage, a dominant recent head-to-head record (3-0 twice last season) and Tottenham’s confidence crisis all point toward a first Forest win of the campaign.

2. Over/Under — Over 2.5 Goals (55% confidence): Forest have found the net in both games so far and a Spurs side desperate to open their account is likely to commit players forward, raising the goal expectancy on both ends.

3. Both Teams To Score — Yes (54% confidence): Forest have conceded 3 in 2 games and Tottenham have shipped 5 in 2, so neither back line inspires much confidence, even if Spurs’ goalless run makes their “Yes” leg the shakier half of the bet.

4. Bonus angles: Consider Igor Jesus or Morgan Gibbs-White for anytime goalscorer given their involvement in Forest’s goals so far this season, and keep an eye on the first-half goal markets given how slowly Tottenham have started matches in 2026-27.

Two clubs under new management, two teams still searching for their first win of 2026-27 — the City Ground should provide a proper litmus test for both projects. Check back with AIProPrediction after the final whistle, and browse more of our soccer predictions, the latest Premier League table, or club-specific pages for Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur.

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