Ipswich Town vs Nottingham Forest Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

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Ipswich Town

vs

Nottingham Forest

KickoffFriday 23 October 2026, 8:00pm

VenuePortman Road

CompetitionEnglish Premier League

TV ChannelSky Sports Premier League

Can Ipswich finally shake off that stubborn hoodoo against Forest, or are the Reds about to pull off another smash and grab at Portman Road? That is the question worth sitting with before this one. Forest have been genuinely dreadful this season by most measures, but they carry a remarkable record against the Tractor Boys into this fixture, and that kind of thing does not disappear overnight. Ipswich, meanwhile, have been quietly impressive as a newly promoted side. This preview breaks down exactly where the value lies.

Ipswich Town vs Nottingham Forest Match Details

Portman Road plays host to this Premier League Friday night fixture, with Ipswich looking to cement their position in the top half against a Forest side who badly need a result to drag themselves off the bottom of the table. It is a game with real stakes at both ends of the early season table.

Team News

Gary O’Neil has a mostly clean bill of health to work with, which is good news given how well the squad performed at the Etihad. There is one notable return potentially on the cards.

• Sasa Lukic (groin) is expected to be available after missing recent action, though O’Neil had not confirmed his involvement at the time of writing
• Zian Flemming came off the bench to score against Manchester City and is pushing for a starting spot
• Emersonn is expected to lead the line again despite Flemming’s bright cameo

Forest have a couple of injury concerns to manage ahead of the trip to Suffolk.

• Morgan Gibbs-White is a doubt with a muscular problem, though Oliver Glasner is cautiously optimistic he will be fit enough to start
• Igor Jesus is out with a calf issue
• Nicolo Savona misses out through a knee problem
• Liam Delap starts despite a slow start to his season in front of goal

Predicted Lineups

O’Neil is likely to name a very similar side to the one that gave Manchester City a proper game last time out. Flemming pushing for a start is the one selection dilemma, but Emersonn keeping his place feels like the safe call. Lukic could return to the bench at minimum.

Ipswich expected XI: Walton; O’Shea, Diop, Greaves; Ouattara, Florentino, Palacios, Davis; Maeda, Emersonn, Enciso

Glasner will want Gibbs-White fit because Forest look a different proposition when he is pulling the strings. If he passes his late test, expect the Austrian to throw him straight in. Munoz and Neco Williams provide width from wing-back, and Delap leads the line as the focal point.

Nottingham Forest expected XI: Sels; Cunha, Diomande, Murillo; Munoz, McAtee, Schlager, N Williams; Gibbs-White, Delap, Ndoye

Recent Form

Ipswich have genuinely been one of the better stories of the opening weeks of the Premier League season. Three wins and four defeats does not tell the full picture because several of those defeats have come against sides near the top end of the division. Their 2-1 win over Fulham at Portman Road earlier in October showed they can handle themselves at home, and even in the 3-2 loss at Manchester City they refused to fold. Scoring 11 goals in seven games as a newly promoted outfit is not nothing. Gary O’Neil has them well drilled and they are playing with a confidence that surprises nobody who watched them build toward promotion.

Nine points from seven games has them sitting 10th, just a point behind sixth-placed Brentford. A win here would temporarily lift them into the top six. That kind of incentive sharpens a squad up. The Tractor Boys are on the right side of okay, and Portman Road has been a decent fortress so far.

Forest are in an altogether different place. One win, two draws and four defeats is a genuinely concerning return, and that solitary victory came away at Aston Villa back in September. They have lost three on the spin going into this one, including a 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal. Perhaps the most alarming stat of all is that Forest have not scored a single Premier League goal at the City Ground this season. Zero. They have five league goals in total, the lowest in the division. Glasner will point to his side being competitive in games, and there is something to that, but this is a club that finished seventh last season and they look shadows of that team right now.

Head-to-Head Record

Here is where things get interesting for anyone tempted to back Ipswich to win comfortably. The head-to-head record is firmly in Forest’s favour, and by a significant margin. The Tractor Boys have not beaten Forest since December 2017. In the last six meetings between these two sides, Forest have won five and not lost a single one. That is the kind of record that has to be factored in regardless of current league position.

Forest also won 4-2 the last time they visited Portman Road back in March 2025, and they have only lost once in away fixtures against Ipswich since March 2016. Those are not numbers you brush under the carpet. Historical patterns do not always repeat themselves, but when the trend is this one-sided, it gives Forest backers something real to hold onto even accounting for their poor start to this campaign.

Key Stats

• Forest have scored just five Premier League goals this season, the lowest in the division, and have not netted once at home
• Ipswich have conceded 15 league goals in seven games, more than any other side in the top half of the table
• Forest are unbeaten in their last five meetings with Ipswich, winning four of them

Ipswich Town vs Nottingham Forest Betting Tips

This is a tricky game to approach with real conviction. Ipswich look the better side on current form and have home advantage, but Forest’s stranglehold over this fixture is too significant to ignore completely. The goalscoring numbers for both sides point toward a game that could be tight and fairly low on drama at either end. Here is how I would approach the markets.

First Goalscorer Prediction

Zian Flemming has scored in each of his last two appearances for Ipswich and will be desperate to force his way into the starting eleven. Even if he begins on the bench, he could well be the man who makes the difference as an impact sub. At the prices available for a player in this kind of form, he is worth a look in the first goalscorer market.

Cards Prediction

There is a chippy edge to this kind of fixture, a promoted side wanting to prove themselves at home against a side carrying frustration from a poor run of results. Forest’s players will be under pressure to perform and that can lead to rash challenges. Expect the referee to have a busy enough evening, and backing over three and a half cards in total looks reasonable given the stakes and the likely intensity of the midfield battle.

Correct Score Prediction

Both defences have their vulnerabilities, but neither side is exactly banging them in right now. A 1-1 draw feels like the most natural outcome given Forest’s habit of not losing to Ipswich while also being incapable of scoring freely this season. Ipswich will create the better opportunities at home, but Forest could nick one on the break. The draw at 1-1 makes genuine sense here.

Over and Under Goals Prediction

Forest have the worst attacking record in the league and Ipswich, despite scoring 11 goals, have conceded heavily too. But when these two sides meet, they tend to keep it tight. Under 2.5 goals feels right. The head-to-head history and Forest’s inability to score freely this season points toward a fairly contained affair at Portman Road.

Corners Prediction

Ipswich play with width and look to get balls into the box from wide areas, while Forest tend to defend deep and invite pressure when they are away from home. That combination should generate a decent number of set piece situations. Over 9.5 corners looks a solid angle for this one given Ipswich’s attacking intent from out wide and Forest’s likely defensive shape.

Bet Builder Tip

A tight draw with limited goals but plenty of wide play from Ipswich chasing the win ties all three selections together neatly.

Final Match Prediction

My head says Ipswich should win this. They are the better team right now, they are at home, and they have genuine quality going forward. But my gut keeps coming back to that head-to-head record and the fact that Forest, for all their struggles, tend to find something extra when they face the Tractor Boys. Glasner will set them up to be hard to beat, and if Gibbs-White is fit and firing, they have the individual quality to hurt Ipswich on the counter.

Ultimately I am siding with a 1-1 draw. Ipswich break the deadlock, Forest respond, and both sets of fans walk away frustrated but not entirely deflated. The point keeps Ipswich in the top half and gives Forest something to build on heading into a difficult November. It feels like one of those Friday night games that promises fireworks but quietly ends up cagey and close.

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