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Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest predictions for this Premier League tie. St James’ Park under lights on a Sunday teatime is a particular kind of theatre. The sound moves differently up there, swirling around the old place like weather. Newcastle are coming off a 4-0 statement in Belgium that felt cathartic as much as clinical, a performance that reintroduced tempo and conviction to their season. Read on for all our free predictions and betting tips.
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Newcastle’s renewed cutting edge and Forest’s fragile set-piece defending point to a home win; momentum and St James’ pressure should seal it.
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Forest may counter once, but Newcastle’s pressure and wide runners suggest a clear cushion, with clinical finishing deciding the margin.
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Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest Predictions and Best Bets
- Newcastle’s forward surge meets Forest’s leaky phase
- Newcastle smashed four in midweek and feature an in-form Woltemade, while Forest have conceded in all six matches under Postecoglou, shipping two or more in four of those games.
- Set-pieces and pressure likely decide the mood
- Forest were undone by a corner and a free-kick on Thursday; Newcastle’s aerial threats and Trippier’s delivery stack the deck towards repeat dead-ball danger at St James’ Park.
- There’s offence both ways, but control leans one way
- Forest’s counters via Hudson-Odoi, Ndoye and Gibbs-White can punish lapses, yet Newcastle’s territory and shot volume, driven by Gordon and Woltemade, point to home superiority.
Can Newcastle’s revived attack overpower Forest’s shaky defence—or does Postecoglou find a surprise answer on Tyneside?
Nottingham Forest, by contrast, arrive with ears still ringing from a 3-2 Europa League defeat to Midtjylland, a night where defensive structure sagged at set-pieces and patience drained from the stands. It’s uncomfortable, but that’s the picture.
The managers walk in with opposing energies. Eddie Howe will have enjoyed the way his front line attacked space against Union SG. Anthony Gordon was electric, Nick Woltemade was decisive, and Harvey Barnes joined in with intent.
Across the divide, Ange Postecoglou is firefighting. He has made an unwanted bit of Forest history with six winless league matches to start, and the last week added the kind of noise no coach invites. Even the late Chris Wood penalty on Thursday—meant to be a sliver of hope—felt like a consolation prize for a night already lost.
Context matters. Newcastle have collected just one league win in six, but they are only a point ahead of Forest and that creates edge. St James’ Park has not been a sanctuary in 2025 either, with defeats to Everton and Liverpool and a painful late turnaround against Arsenal. Yet this is still a place where home momentum can gather quickly if the first press lands. Forest know that. The Midtjylland game showed soft underbelly from dead balls and a habit of losing first contacts. The Premier League is rarely forgiving of that weakness, and Newcastle are not shy about asking you to defend your penalty spot.
Injuries shift the chessboard. Forest lost Murillo to a thigh issue on Thursday, likely forcing a rethink to a back four and opening the door for Nicolo Savona to come in. Ola Aina and Oleksandr Zinchenko remain sidelined, as does Douglas Luiz, while Taiwo Awoniyi is another expected absentee. Newcastle have their own concerns—Tino Livramento faces weeks out with a knee problem, and Yoane Wissa is also absent—although Jacob Ramsey is trending positively and should boost selection options. On paper, then, Newcastle carry more available firepower; Forest seem to be juggling the back line with chewing gum and hope.
This isn’t a sermon, it’s just the set-up. It will be loud, urgent and slightly chaotic, because St James’ Park always is when there’s something to turn around. And if you’re Forest, you either meet that noise or you get swallowed by it. Right, let’s talk betting angles.
Best Bet for this match
Newcastle to win and both teams to score
Here at BettingTips4You we keep our service deliberately lean: one match, one selection, the standout angle, the pick we’d put our name on. Quality over quantity. That means you never have to sift through half a dozen half-hearted leans, and it keeps us honest on long-term performance because each event carries a single, accountable choice. For Newcastle vs Nottingham Forest, our ultimate prediction is Newcastle to win and both teams to score.
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The reasoning begins with game-state. Newcastle are not steamrolling opponents domestically, but their underlying threat re-emerged in Europe. The 4-0 away victory over Union SG was more than a scoreline; it was a résumé. Gordon found repeat access into dangerous zones, Woltemade converted pressure into production and Barnes added end product from wide positions. When those three move in sync, the Magpies build sustained territory. And at St James’ Park, territory has a way of compounding. Corners become chains of corners; second balls become third waves; the crowd acts like a metronome, ticking faster with each attack.
Forest, unfortunately for them, bring the kind of profile that often concedes under that. They have allowed goals in every one of their six matches under Postecoglou and shipped two or more four times already. The Midtjylland defeat was especially indicting: a goal from a corner, another from a free-kick, both before the oranges. When you repeatedly lose first contacts in the Premier League, opponents turn it into a pattern. Newcastle are comfortable attacking the six-yard line; Kieran Trippier’s service and the aerial presence of Dan Burn and Fabian Schär invite exactly the moments Forest struggled to clean up on Thursday.
The injuries exacerbate Forest’s issues. If Murillo sits out—as expected—Postecoglou will likely pivot to a flat back four, which carries its own teething problems given personnel. Savona at full-back would need to be both brave and perfect against direct carriers like Gordon or Jacob Murphy. With Ola Aina and Zinchenko unavailable and Douglas Luiz also out, the visitors lose defensive security and build-up calm. That pushes more on to Dominguez and Anderson to stem transitions, a tall order when Newcastle are spinning the ball into the channels for Woltemade to attack near-post runs.
Why both teams to score? Because Forest are not toothless. Wood finally got off the mark under Postecoglou and won’t lack motivation at his former home. Morgan Gibbs-White is still their best connector between thirds, Callum Hudson-Odoi can take on his man, and Dan Ndoye’s movement is disruptive when he drifts off the right into pockets. Newcastle’s home league run this calendar year has included soft concessions—Everton and Liverpool both found joy—and they are still re-calibrating defensively after late set-piece pain against Arsenal. Even with Nick Pope in dependable touch and a likely trio of Schär, Burn and Lewis Hall across the back line, the hosts can cough up a moment. Forest’s best route remains quick switches to isolate their wingers and early deliveries towards Wood. That playbook can produce one, even on a difficult afternoon.
We also have a form cue that matters in attack: Woltemade’s start. He has scored in three of his four starts, including the opener against Arsenal and another in Europe this week. There is an air of inevitability when he pulls off a centre-back’s shoulder. Add Gordon’s two-goal salvo in Belgium, and Newcastle have a pair of in-form difference-makers. Our BettingTips4You Expert Rating has Woltemade at 8.5 for current output and movement quality, with Gordon at 8.2 for ball-carrying threat and shot creation. Ratings are not a crystal ball, but they match the eye.
On Forest’s side, Postecoglou’s plan is almost certainly to lower the chaos by lowering the block, then strike through wide breaks. That is viable. But the running trend is that Forest eventually bend under long spells of pressure. They have been breached in every game under the new boss, and three of those saw them concede three. That isn’t a blip; that’s a pattern.
There’s also a psychological layer we cannot ignore. The away support was audibly frustrated on Thursday. When you are one managerial performance from open mutiny, the first concession in a hostile ground can drain belief. Contrast that with the Newcastle crowd, who smell a corner being turned after Europe. The first 20 minutes could be raw. If the hosts land a shot across the bows early, the rest of the afternoon likely plays to their strengths.
BettingTips4You.com expert quote — Steve Harrington:
“You have one side rediscovering forward rhythm and another side stuck in a cycle of soft concessions. If Forest score—and they can—Newcastle still carry more winning paths.”
If you want the quick version: Newcastle have more routes to two or three goals, Forest have enough punch for one, and the injuries tilt the structural match-up toward the home side. It’s not complicated, and it doesn’t need to be. Sometimes the obvious angle is obvious for a reason.
As a final note for completeness, we should mark the selection realities. Newcastle are managing absences too, with Livramento sidelined and Yoane Wissa also out, but they may gain Jacob Ramsey back into the matchday picture. Forest look stretched with Murillo, Aina, Zinchenko, Douglas Luiz and Awoniyi all on the wrong side of the fitness line. The likely XIs underline control zones: Trippier’s deliveries, Guimaraes and Tonali balancing the middle with Joelinton’s ball-carrying, and the home front three’s verticality. For Forest, the creativity still runs through Gibbs-White, with Hudson-Odoi and Ndoye giving the counters some bite and Wood serving as the finisher. It’s enough for a goal. It’s probably not enough for the points.
Correct score suggestion: Newcastle 3–1 Nottingham Forest. The Magpies’ balance of wide threat and set-piece pressure feels good for two by the hour and a clincher late, while Forest’s wingers or a Wood moment keep the board honest.
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