Football betting tips: Premier League
1pt Sean Longstaff to be shown a card at 13/2 (BetVictor)
Three wins and a couple of draws should be enough to keep Nottingham Forest and/or Leeds in the Premier League. Both sides will fancy one of those wins to come on Friday night.
The hosts look a changed outfit following a formation switch in early December. They've lost just two of their 11 since then - those coming away at Newcastle and at home to Arsenal.
Three of Leeds' four remaining games against those currently below them are at home - that's where they need to be gaining the points required to survive.
Forest are on a four-game unbeaten run though which includes away wins over Brentford and West Ham. Confidence will be high for Sean Dyche's side who still have European football to play this season.
They've also added to their squad in order to try and escape the situation they're in. The same can't be said for Leeds, who opted to gamble on what they had in the hope everyone stays fairly fit.
The issue is that midfielder Anton Stach is out, with questions over centre-back Jaka Bijol. That means Daniel Farke will have to shuffle his pack in hopes of a response.
SEAN LONGSTAFF should be given his first start in a while and I like the 13/2 available on the midfielder TO BE SHOWN A CARD. With Stach out, Longstaff will be needed for set-piece deliveries.
His last start came in the home loss to Aston Villa as injury sidelined him for a while. January restricted him to some appearances from the bench.
Longstaff committed three fouls in that previous start (his highest of the campaign) while he was booked when these sides last met - that finished as a 3-1 win to Forest that day.
He's no stranger to a card. Seven yellows were shown as he started 30 games for Newcastle in the 2023/24 season. His position on the pitch means that he is often involved.
Forest rank highly when it comes to fouls committed in away games and that, coupled with the atmosphere, is likely to see Leeds join in the physicality. They simply can't afford to be bullied given the significance of the occasion.
Considering Stach is priced at 10/3 (despite his expected absence), Ethan Ampadu is 3/1, Ilia Gruev is 4/1 and Ao Tanaka is out at 5s, taking Longstaff looks the bet with multiple bookmakers going 11/2 and above.
Odds correct at 16:50 GMT (05/02/26)
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