Saturday’s Premier League Predictions: Brentford striker can net against Forest

Greg Lea

28 April 2023

The Premier League continues with another round of action this weekend. Football expert Greg Lea looks ahead to the three matches set to take place on Saturday.

Crystal Palace v West Ham United

Kick-off: 12.30pm Saturday

Crystal Palace lost for the first time on Tuesday since Roy Hodgson took over for his second spell in charge. Palace fell behind against Wolves early on and were never able to recover, eventually losing 2-0 at Molineux. They had plenty of possession after the break but struggled to turn that into clear-cut chances.

Nevertheless, Palace have clearly improved in recent weeks and they will be looking to get to 40 points as quickly as possible. The Eagles have probably done enough to survive already, but they will still be keen to make certain of their top-flight status.

West Ham are still involved in the basement battle despite an upturn in form of late. They were edged out 2-1 by Liverpool during the week, but have now found the back of the net in each of their last seven games. With Wilfried Zaha fit again for Palace, goals at both ends is the way to go here.

Prediction: Both teams to score @ 2.02

Brentford v Nottingham Forest

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

Nottingham Forest secured a massive three points on Wednesday. A 3-1 defeat of Brighton & Hove Albion has given Steve Cooper’s side hope in their bid to avoid an immediate return to the Championship. It also ended a 11-match winless streak for last term’s play-off victors.

The main issue for Forest is their away record. Matches against mid-table teams like Brentford are usually welcomed by relegation contenders at this stage of the season, but the Bees will have been buoyed by their 2-0 victory over Chelsea on Wednesday and they have only lost two league games on home turf this season.

Forest have collected fewer points at opposition stadiums than any other team in the division. They have registered only one away win all season and have conceded 39 goals on their travels - a statistic which will leave Brentford’s top scorer, Ivan Toney, licking his lips.

Prediction: Ivan Toney anytime goalscorer @ 2.08

Brighton & Hove Albion v Wolverhampton Wanderers

Kick-off: 3pm Saturday

It was no great surprise to see Brighton suffer from a post-FA Cup semi-final hangover against Nottingham Forest. The nature of their penalty shoot-out defeat by Manchester United will have hurt Roberto De Zerbi’s players, but they must try and lift themselves for the Premier League run-in.

Brighton’s campaign is not over just yet. They remain in contention for a top-six finish, which would bring with it a place in the Europa League - a fantastic achievement for a club of their size.

Wolves can be a tough nut to crack, though, and they will look to make life difficult for Brighton, who are expected to once again be without Evan Ferguson and Danny Welbeck. Games involving Julen Lopetegui’s side tend to be low-scoring and this one could follow suit.

Prediction: Under 2.5 goals @ 2.06