Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth predictions and betting tips – Cherries eye Champions League

Bournemouth head to the City Ground on the final day of the Premier League weekend hoping to qualify for the Champions League. No one expected that at the start of the season.

Nottingham Forest are their opponents on matchday 38. Will Andoni Iraola sign off on his Bournemouth tenure with a victory, or can Forest end their long unbeaten run?

• Bournemouth to win – 21/20 with Tote
• Bournemouth to score first – 8/11 with Betfred
• Rayan to score any time – 2/1 with Casimba

Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth head to head overview

• Date: Sunday 24th May.
• Kick-off: 4pm.
• Venue: City Ground, Nottingham, England.
• Where to watch: Sky Sports TBC.
• Referee: Craig Pawson.
• VAR: Yes.
• Last meeting: 26th October 2025; Bournemouth 2-0 Nottingham Forest.
• Last 10 matches: Nottingham Forest – 0 wins; Bournemouth – 6 wins; Draws – 4.
• Favourite to win: Bournemouth.

Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth predicted lineups

• Nottingham Forest expected lineup: Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Morato, Netz; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Jesus, Gibbs-White; Wood.
• Bournemouth expected lineup: Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Adams; Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson.

Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth predictions

Andoni Iraola will take charge of his final game as Bournemouth manager this weekend. He could be about to depart a Champions League club.

With one round of fixtures remaining in what has been one of the best Premier League campaigns in recent years, Bournemouth have a genuine shot at qualifying for Europe’s foremost competition.

To do so, they need three results to go in their favour – and, naturally, the Cherries can only control one of those.

First up, Bournemouth must avoid defeat by Nottingham Forest. That would guarantee them a sixth-place finish.

To earn a seat at Europe’s top table in 2026/27, Bournemouth also require Aston Villa to finish fifth. For that to happen, Villa must lose to Manchester City and Liverpool must beat Brentford.

If all three results go their way, Bournemouth – one of the smallest clubs in the Premier League on virtually every metric – will be rubbing shoulders with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain next term.

It is hard to countenance that Iraola would be prepared to leave all that behind, but it is a done deal. Not only has the Spaniard’s departure been confirmed, but Bournemouth have already hired his replacement. Marco Rose will be the man in the home dugout at the Vitality Stadium next season.

Whatever happens this weekend, Bournemouth are already guaranteed to be in the Europa League at a minimum. That is a fantastic achievement for a club which only participated in the top flight of English football for the first time just over a decade ago.

Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth betting tips

Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth go head-to-head on the final day of the Premier League season.

Bournemouth to march on

This has been an eventful season for Nottingham Forest, who have had four different managers (none of them interim) and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League.

There has not been as much for Forest fans to cheer domestically, although they did at least secure their Premier League status with a few games to spare.

At that point, Forest’s entire campaign came down to the Europa League. Since exiting the competition, they have drawn one and lost one.

Forest would love to end 2025/26 on a high, but Bournemouth are in fantastic form. They can make it 18 games unbeaten by winning at the City Ground.

Back Bournemouth to win at 21/20 with Tote

Cherries to strike first

Bournemouth are a well-oiled machine under Iraola, who has fashioned a side that often starts games quickly.

The Cherries have opened the scoring in each of their last six matches, despite facing the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and Manchester United (the current top three) in that time.

Nottingham Forest have been slower out of the blocks of late, conceding first in three consecutive games across the Europa League and Premier League.

Across the season as a whole, Bournemouth rank fifth in the first-half table, while Nottingham Forest are 17th. That is further evidence of the contrasting ways in which these two teams tend to perform early on.

Tip Bournemouth to score first at 8/11 with Betfred

Rayan back among goals

Iraola deserves great credit for his work at Bournemouth this season, but the club’s recruitment team have also contributed hugely to the side’s success.

When Antoine Semenyo left for Manchester City in the winter window, Bournemouth could have tailed off. Instead, others stepped up to replace their departing top scorer.

The man who has directly replaced Semenyo is Rayan, a teenager plucked from Brazil in January. It is still early days for the winger, but it is already clear that Bournemouth have a phenomenal talent on their hands.

Rayan has scored five goals in 14 appearances since moving to the Vitality Stadium. At the odds available, we recommend backing him to find the back of the net on Sunday too.

Go for Rayan to score any time at 2/1 with Casimba

Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth latest odds

Find the latest Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth betting odds here. All odds are provided by our recommended football bookmakers and are subject to change.

More Premier League predictions

We have plenty more Premier League predictions and picks – find our latest betting tips from expert punters in our match preview overview.

Important historical facts about Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth for betting

Nottingham Forest have never beaten Bournemouth in seven Premier League meetings.

Bournemouth’s 17 games unbeaten streak is the longest in the Premier League this season. Bournemouth have drawn more games (17) than any other team in the division.

About the author

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.

Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball

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