Play-off hopefuls Nottingham Forest visit Blackpool in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday lunchtime. Michael Beardmore provides the preview and best bets.
Football betting tips: Championship
1pt Josh Bowler to score anytime at 11/2 (bet365)
1pt Ryan Yates to score anytime at 6/1 (bet365)
Just three points separate Nottingham Forest from the top six ahead of Saturday lunchtime’s seaside trip to Blackpool – in a rollercoaster play-off race that will provide more thrills and spills before it’s done.
Steve Cooper’s side are unbeaten in seven Sky Bet Championship matches but a visit to Bloomfield Road is a tricky assignment for Forest – and indeed any team.
The Tangerines have impressed upon promotion, sitting 13th in their first season back in the second tier and not completely out of the top-six hunt themselves, albeit that might be a step too far.
Nonetheless, Blackpool have beaten Fulham, Middlesbrough, Blackburn and Sheffield United among others this term and are unbeaten in four themselves, winning three of those.
Kick-off time: 12:30 BST, Saturday
TV channel: Sky Sports Football
Blackpool 21/10 | Draw 9/4 | Forest 13/10
Even taking Forest’s fine form into account, I think the hosts are overpriced here at 21/10 generally but this is such a tough game to call that I’m happy to look elsewhere other than the win market.
Forest are the Championship’s fifth top scorers and while Blackpool are well down that list, what they are is regular scorers – the Seasiders have failed to net in only nine of 37 league games.
You can get close to evens on both sides to score but if we expect a goal or three in this, the goalscorer markets provide more value and there are a couple of in-form midfielders – one on each team – that I want to get onside.
Since Boxing Day, Blackpool have scored 19 goals with striker Gary Madine and Josh Bowler accounting for 12 of those (six goals each).
Madine is absolutely worth a look at 3/1 to score in the 90 minutes but I’m tempted by almost double those odds – the 11/2 on BOWLER TO SCORE ANYTIME with bet365.
Playmaker Bowler has scored six goals in his last 11 games and his confidence is sky-high, attempting 23 shots across his last seven matches.
From a Forest perspective, Ryan Yates is not quite as trigger-happy but he has been accurate, popping up with five goals in his past nine games – from just nine efforts.
He’s enjoying the best goalscoring campaign of his career – seven goals in total – so the 6/1 on YATES TO SCORE ANYTIME is definitely a price to take advantage of.
In a tricky game to predict between two good second-tier sides, I’m happy to limit interest to small stakes on two players firing on all cylinders.
Blackpool v Nottingham Forest best bets and score prediction
- 1pt Josh Bowler to score anytime at 11/2 (bet365)
- 1pt Ryan Yates to score anytime at 6/1 (bet365)
Score prediction: Blackpool 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Sky Bet odds: 5/1)
Odds correct at 1615 BST (31/03/22)
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