Blackpool v Nottingham Forest predictions, odds and bet builder tips: Tricky Trees can exact their revenge

Betfair are offering £50 in free bet builder bets when you bet on Blackpool v Nottingham Forest. You can grab your free bets here. 

We’ve included instructions on how to grab your offer later on in this article.

Where to watch Blackpool v Nottingham Forest

You can watch Blackpool v Nottingham in the FA Cup on Wednesday 17 January, live on ITV4 at 7.45pm

Match prediction & best bet

Nottingham Forest
2pts 10-11 Coral, Ladbrokes

You can bet on Blackpool v Nottingham Forest here get £50 in free bet builder bets with Betfair

Blackpool v Nottingham Forest odds

Blackpool 3-1
Nottingham Forest 10-11
Draw 14-5

Odds correct at time of publishing

Blackpool v Nottingham Forest team news

Blackpool
The hosts remains without Jake Beesley and Kylian Kouassi while Kenny Dougall and Matthew Pennington are doubtful. Middlesbrough loanee Hayden Coulson is ineligible.

Nottingham Forest
Taiwo Awoniyi, Anthony Elanga, Felipe and Divock Origi are injured while Serge Aurier, Ola Aina, Willy Boly, Cheikhou Kouyate, Moussa Niakhate and Ibrahim Sangare are away on international duty. Fringe players Orel Mangala, Nuno Tavares, and Nico Williams will be pushing for starts.

Blackpool v Nottingham Forest predictions

Nottingham Forest were humbled in a 4-1 defeat away at Blackpool in the FA Cup third round last season, but the Tricky Trees can get their revenge at the same stage on their return to Bloomfield Road.

The difference this time, of course, is that this is a third-round replay as the pair shared the spoils in a four-goal thriller at the City Ground ten days ago.

But two divisions now separate the teams with Blackpool in League One and the gulf in class could be evident as Forest bid to respond positively to Monday’s news of being charged with breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.

Forest’s punishment from the Premier League is up in the air while they face a crunch clash away at relegation rivals Brentford on Saturday, which may carry greater significance than this FA Cup tie against lower-ranked opposition.

However, manager Nuno Espírito Santo doesn’t have much choice but to deploy a strong side with six players away at the Africa Cup of Nations on top of having Taiwo Awoniyi, Anthony Elanga, Felipe and Divock Origi sidelined through injury. 

Forest must start more quickly than they did in the initial tie when they found themselves 2-0 down inside 27 minutes.

Their blushes were eventually spared by Morgan Gibbs-White’s second-half strike, although the Premier League side will feel that they did enough to win the contest the first time around given they won the shot count 17-3.

That thrilling draw, combined with Blackpool’s shock success over Forest 12 months ago, will have earned them plenty of respect in the away dugout, even more so when you consider that they have won 15 of their 20 home games this season.

Yet despite that domestic dominance the Tangerines find themselves only eighth in the third tier and that is 37 places below Forest in the football pyramid.

The Tricky Trees have started to find their shooting boots in the absence of Awoniyi, scoring at least twice in four straight games, and Santo has overseen back-to-back Premier League wins over Manchester United and Newcastle.

Blackpool have been relying on Jordan Rhodes for their attacking output and the 33-year-old has racked up 15 goals in 25 starts, so keeping him quiet will be key to Forest’s success.

The Premier League quality of Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Nicolas Dominguez and Chris Wood, who scored a hat-trick in his last away game at Newcastle, could ultimately prove the difference.

Key stat

Both teams have scored in each of the last five matches between Blackpool and Nottingham Forest.

Probable teams

Blackpool (3-4-2-1): Grimshaw; Connolly, Casey, Husband; Lawrence-Gabriel, Norburn, Morgan, Lyons; Dembele, Hamilton; Rhodes.
Subs: Carey, Dale, Joseph, Virtue-Thick, Ekpiteta, Oakley-Boothe, O'Donnell.

Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Vlachodimos; Williams, Worrall, Murillo, Tavares; Mangala, Yates; Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Gibbs-White; Wood.
Subs: Montiel, Toffolo, Danilo, McKenna, Osong, Aguilera, Omobamidele.

Blackpool v Nottingham Forest bet builder predictions

Morgan Gibbs-White to score or assist
Gibbs-White has scored in back-to-back games, which includes in the initial tie at the City Ground, and he carries Forest's creative influence.

Over 5.5 Nottingham Forest corners
Forest forced seven corners at home to Blackpool earlier this month while their FA Cup trip to Bloomfield Road last season saw them register six.

Over 2.5 cards for Blackpool
The Tangerines are going to have to ride their luck and they picked up five bookings at Forest ten days ago, which included yellows for their back three and goalkeeper.

Pays out at 10-1 with bet365

Grab £50 in Betfair bet builder free bets on Blackpool v Nottingham Forest

We’ve already mentioned that Betfair are offering £50 in free bet builder bets when you bet £10 on Blackpool v Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup.

You can follow these simple steps outlined below to grab your £50 free bet to place on Blackpool v Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup. It's fast, secure and straightforward.

1. Head over to Betfair through this link and click the 'Get Started' button on their homepage
2. Create your username and password and register a new account with code ZSKW16
3. Place a £10 football bet on the Betfair Sportsbook with minimum odds of 1-2 (1.5)
4. £50 in free bet builder bets will be awarded after the qualifying bet has settled

Betfair FA Cup betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new player promotion before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the details of this Betfair betting offer and what's expected of you as a new player.

• New customers only. Available to residents of the UK and Ireland
• Open a new account using promo code ZSKW16
• SMS verification required
• Deposit a minimum of £10 using a Debit card
• Place a minimum £10 football bet on the Betfair Sportsbook. Min odds 1-2 (1.5)
• Qualifying requirements must be completed within 30 days of account opening
• Further T&Cs apply. Visit Betfair for more details

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.