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

Sunderland have been one of the surprise packages of the season so far, so much so that Regis Le Bris is the third-favourite for the Manager of the Year award, according to Ladbrokes.

The pressure is off Sunderland now, with the Black Cats 15 points clear of 18th-placed Tottenham, but the same cannot be said for their opponents on Friday night.

Forest are just five points ahead of Spurs, and with two European semi-final matches on the horizon for the next few weeks, time is ticking for them to pick up meaningful points.

With it all to play for, read on for our in-depth Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest bet builder, and don't forget to check out our complete preview of every single Premier League match from this gameweek.

Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest match details

• Fixture: Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest

• Competition: Premier League

• Date: Friday, 24 April, 2026

• Kick-off: 20:00 BST

• Venue: Stadium of Light

Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest match prediction

Our prediction: Sunderland 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest predicted lineups

Sunderland

Our predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Roefs / Reinildo, Ballard, O'Nien, Mukiele / Xhaka, Sadiki / Rigg, Diarra, Le Fee / Brobbey

Nottingham Forest

Our predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sels / Williams, Jair, Milenkovic, Aina / Anderson, Sangare / Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Bakwa / Wood

Sunderland vs Nottingham bet builder tips

Nottingham Forest to win or draw

Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in their last five games in all competitions, with wins against Porto, Tottenham and Burnley. Vitor Pereira seems to have got things going at the City Ground, aiding his side's chances of remaining in the Premier League.

Sunderland, on the other hand, have lost three of their last five games. In their most recent game, Sunderland conceded a last minute goal to lose 4-3 to Aston Villa.

Forest have the momentum on their side, and with their fixture schedule about to get very busy with Premier League and Europa League games coming up, they need to get a result here.

So, our team of experts is expecting Forest to either win or draw against Sunderland this weekend, with a 'double chance' pick included in our Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest bet builder.

Under 2.5 goals to be scored

Games featuring teams at the bottom of the table towards the end of the season tend to be goalfests, but we don't see that happening in Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest.

50% of Nottingham Forest's last ten games have seen under 2.5 goals being scored, with only 30% of Sunderland's last ten seeing the ball hit the back of the net three or more times.

When you look at Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest matches, the last time the two sides met at the Stadium of Light was back in 2017, with the away side winning 1-0. The away side also won when Sunderland played Forest at the City Ground in the Premier League last year.

The data and the history between these two sides suggest fans won't be seeing many goals, which is why we're going with under 2.5 being scored on Friday night.

Morgan Gibbs-White to have a shot on target

Morgan Gibbs-White was very close to leaving Nottingham Forest in the summer of 2025, but he stayed and may be the main reason Pereira's side remain in the Premier League this season.

Gibbs-White scored a hat-trick against Burnley in his side's last game, giving them a vital three points on a weekend where their relegation rivals West Ham and Tottenham both failed to win.

The former Wolves man is making a late claim for a spot in England's World Cup 2026 squad, and we think he's going to be involved against Sunderland once again this week.

So, the third leg of our Sunderland vs Nottingham Forest bet builder features a tip of Gibbs-White testing the goalkeeper with a shot on target.

Brian Brobbey to have a shot on target

We may be tipping Forest to either draw or win the game, but we're expecting it to be back-and-forth match with Sunderland having their fair share of chances. The biggest beneficiary will be Brian Brobbey, with the Dutchman predicted to have at least one shot on goal on Friday.

Despite not scoring, Brobbey managed to test Emi Martinez with a shot on target when Sunderland lost to Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon. He's managed four shots on target in his last three league games, including scoring against Newcastle last month.

So, with Sunderland set to have a few chances of their own, we're tipping Brobbey to have at least one shot on target, potentially even more.

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

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