Crystal Palace vs Nottingham Forest predictions: Sarr could strike early for slick Eagles
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- Crystal Palace need five points from their last four games to reach 50 points for the first time in their Premier League history
- Nottingham Forest hit the woodwork three times in last weekend's 2-0 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Manchester City
- Recommended bet: Ismaila Sarr to be first goalscorer at 7/1 with LiveScore Bet
Nottingham Forest's Champions League qualification bid has been hampered by a run of three defeats in four Premier League games so they need a positive result at FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace on Monday.
Palace produced a brilliant display in last weekend's semi-final, beating Aston Villa 3-0 at Wembley, before Forest lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the second semi.
Nuno Espirito Santo's men were denied by the woodwork three times and Thursday's 2-0 home defeat to Brentford has left them with little margin for error in the race for the top five.
Team news
Crystal Palace are missing the injured Chadi Riad and Cheick Doucoure. Their only other absentee is on-loan goalkeeper Matt Turner, who is ineligible to face his parent club.
Nottingham Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi (thigh) will be assessed. Youngster Eric da Silva Moreira is the visitors' other fitness doubt.
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The stats
Crystal Palace have lost only four of their last 22 matches in all competitions.
Three of Palace's last four Premier League games have featured over 3.5 goals.
There have been five red cards in the Eagles' last four home games in all competitions.
Both teams have scored in Nottingham Forest's last five away league matches.
The Tricky Trees have lost four of their last five league and cup matches.
There have been over 2.5 goals in Forest's last seven away league games.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest have lost four of their last five matches in all competitions and they face a tricky trip to Crystal Palace on Monday.
Forest's sole success during their poor run of form came at Tottenham, where they scored two early goals before soaking up the pressure from Spurs to seal a 2-1 victory.
That gameplan has worked well for the Tricky Trees this season and the first goal is likely to be crucial at Selhurst Park.
Palace manager Oliver Glasner will clearly be focused on the FA Cup final against Manchester City but the Eagles also have the chance to reach 50 points for the first time in their Premier League history.
A top-half finish would be a great effort given Palace's slow start to the campaign and they drew 2-2 at Arsenal last week despite leaving key forwards Jean-Philippe Mateta and Ismaila Sarr out of the starting line-up.
Both had a major impact after coming on at the Emirates Stadium, where Mateta scored a brilliant equaliser and Sarr had three shots in less than half an hour on the pitch.
The Senegal winger then played a starring role in the Wembley win over Villa, teeing up Eberechi Eze for a spectacular opener before scoring Palace's second and third goals.
Sarr looks a tempting bet to open the scoring against Forest, having also found the net in the cup quarter-final win at Fulham.
He scored with one of his five shots in December's home defeat to Arsenal and has notched three times in his last four league appearances at Selhurst Park, racking up four shots against Villa in February and three against Ipswich in March.
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