Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal: Premier League preview, predictions and bet builder tips

• Ladbrokes previews Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal in the Premier League on Saturday

• We are tipping Arsenal to win with a clean sheet at the City Ground

• Martin Zubimendi is backed to have a shot on target with Nicolas Dominguez shown a yellow card

Arsenal return to Premier League action aiming to maintain their six-point lead at the top of the table when they visit Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners are currently six points clear of Manchester City and Aston Villa and have not lost a game since the start of December, winning five of those six games in that period.

Forest, meanwhile, distanced themselves from the relegation zone with a crucial win in a six-pointer against West Ham in their last league game and now sit seven points clear of the bottom three, although they have since been dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship Wrexham.

Ladbrokes shares its Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal preview, including expert predictions, lineups and bet builder tips.

• Fixture: Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal

• Date: Saturday, January 17, 2026

• Kick-off: 17:30 GMT

• Venue: The City Ground

Our prediction: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Arsenal

We're expecting Arsenal's title charge to remain on course with a relatively comfortable victory at the City Ground. The Gunners have been pretty faultless and have the knack of grinding out a result in these types of fixtures - which is something they struggled with last season.

While Forest's relegation fears were greatly reduced by their win at West Ham, their overall form under Sean Dyche has been pretty abysmal and Saturday's game against the league leaders is about as tough an assignment as it gets.

Nottingham Forest

Our predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sels / Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams / Anderson, Dominguez / Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi / Jesus

Arsenal

Our predicted XI (4-3-3): Raya / White, Gabriel, Saliba, Timber / Zubimendi, Rice, Odegaard / Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

Martin Zubimendi is starting to make a difference in Arsenal's attack, scoring in two of his last four starts for the Gunners, including Wednesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg win over Chelsea.

The Spaniard also scored with a stunning strike in the home fixture against Forest this season and will fancy his chances to test goalkeeper Matz Sels with at least one strike on goal.

The key to any chance of a Forest victory is likely to be to make things difficult for the title favourites, particularly in midfield.

Nicolas Dominguez is known for his high work rate and strong tackling and the physical approach Sean Dyche will likely go for in this game could lead to the Argentine overstepping the mark at times. We think he looks the best shout in the cards market.

As shown in our predictions, we're backing Arsenal to record a clean sheet away from home on their way to another three points.

Forest have been pretty toothless in attack all season, with only bottom-side Wolves scoring less than the Tricky Trees in the Premier League and with Dyche's men coming up against the league's meanest defence, we can see only one scenario panning out here.

That brings us on nicely to our final pick, which is for Arsenal to win away from home.

Mikel Arteta's men seem to have put what had been perceived as a slight wobble in early December well and truly behind them and look like a team on a mission as they look to win their first title since 2004. If their title charge is to falter, it's unlikely to start here against a struggling Forest side.

You can bet on each of these markets individually, or combine them to create one large Nottingham Forest vs Arsenal Bet Builder.

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You can also check out our Premier League Gameweek 22 preview, where you can find our predictions for every game and betting tips for selected matches.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.