Chris Sutton and Paul Merson disagree as they deliver Newcastle v Nottingham Forest prediction
Nottingham Forest head to Newcastle United on Sunday afternoon for an eye-catching fixture between two Premier League sides with their eyes fixed on the European places ahead of next season.
Forest have enjoyed a memorable campaign thus far, bloodying noses including Liverpool's - indeed the only side to manage to do so - and spending the bulk of the season in the top four, but they have lost their last couple of away matches and the journey north to Tyneside represents another tricky test.
Forest did secure an impressive win on their last trip to St James's Park last year, when - with new boss Nuno Espirito Santo in tow - they were inspired by Chris Wood, who helped himself to a hat-trick. For pundit Chris Sutton, though, he doesn't believe the Reds will be able to produce similar heroics this time.
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"As the BBC's predictions expert I always try to go with my head and not my heart," he wrote in his BBC Sport column. "That's what I am doing with this game, which is big for both teams in the battle for the top four.
"I'd love to say my boyhood club, Nottingham Forest, will respond to their defeat at Fulham, but this game is actually quite simple for me to predict because I am expecting Newcastle to bounce back from their woeful performance and result against Manchester City last weekend.
"I just think there will be a big reaction from Alexander Isak, who was kept really quiet by City, and a real response from their whole team."
Fellow pundit and former Arsenal midfielder Paul Merson, however, has predicted that Forest will take a point from the meeting to maintain their European credentials as the race for the top four positions heats up. Merson thinks the game will end 1-1.
