Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest tips: Eagles hunt first points at Selhurst

Crystal Palace host Nottingham Forest at Selhurst Park on Monday, 12 October at 12:00 am AEDT, with the Eagles desperate to break their duck after two straight defeats to open the campaign. Palace sit 18th on the ladder with zero points from two games, while Forest are only marginally better off in 15th with a point from their opening pair.

Both sides come into this one winless, but the paths here tell different stories. Palace copped a hiding from Manchester City last start — a 1–4 defeat at home on 29 August — and prior to that fell 0–2 away to Everton. Forest, meanwhile, held Liverpool to a 2–2 draw on the road in their most recent outing (also 29 August), a performance that will give them belief despite their opening-day loss to Leeds.

With two sides searching for their first three points, the market sits tight: Palace are quoted at 2.55, the draw at 3.3, and Forest at 2.65. The line market has Palace laying a goal, priced at 5.75, with Forest getting the start at 1.52. Our epl predictions focus on which of these winless outfits can finally deliver.

Who breaks through first?

The ladder tells a grim tale for Palace — dead last with a 0–0–2 record, five goals conceded, one scored, and a goal differential of minus-five. Forest's 0–1–1 returns aren't flash either, but at least they've shown they can compete away from home, going goal-for-goal with the Reds at Anfield.

Form over the last five is thin — Palace have only played twice, losing both (0–2 away to Everton, then 1–4 at home to City). Forest match them with two games, a 0–1 home loss to Leeds followed by that 2–2 draw with Liverpool on the road. Neither side has won yet, but Forest's ability to score twice away to a title contender suggests they're finding their feet in attack.

Palace's only home start this season ended in that four-goal hammering by City on 29 August, and while City are a different beast, conceding four at Selhurst will sting. Forest's lone home game was the Leeds defeat, but their away showing at Liverpool — grabbing a point and two goals — will have them travelling with confidence.

The head-to-head market reflects the closeness: Palace at 2.55 edge Forest at 2.65, with the draw at 3.3 looming large given both sides' struggles to find wins. Palace have home advantage, but Forest have shown more resilience in their last outing. This shapes as a contest between a home side needing to stem the bleeding and a visitor who knows they can hurt teams on the road.

Can Palace cover the spread?

The line market has Crystal Palace laying a goal at home — Palace –1 priced at 5.75, Nottingham Forest +1 at 1.52. That handicap asks whether the Eagles can win by two or more, a tall order given they've conceded six and scored one across their two games.

Palace's only home outing ended in a three-goal loss to Manchester City, conceding four and managing just one in reply. Forest, for their part, shipped two at Liverpool but found the net twice themselves, showing they can stay in the contest even on hostile turf.

The pricing heavily favours Forest getting the start, and the form supports that lean. Palace haven't shown the firepower or defensive solidity to pull away from an opponent by multiple goals, and Forest's last-start draw at Anfield suggests they'll make a fist of this. Taking Forest +1 at 1.52 looks the more reliable angle on the handicap.