We said: Newcastle United 2-1 Nottingham Forest
Given the standard of players that have been signed by Forest, it would be naive to rule out the visitors from causing a surprise in the North East. However, despite Forest likely to have a spring in their step, Newcastle's greater quality and experience should shine through come the final whistle.
Read more.Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Newcastle United win with a probability of 45.01%. A draw had a probability of 28.2% and a win for Nottingham Forest had a probability of 26.74%.
The most likely scoreline for a Newcastle United win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.94%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.07%) and 2-1 (8.45%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (13%), while for a Nottingham Forest win it was 0-1 (10%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with a 9.1% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole and our data analysis both correctly predicted that Newcastle United would win this match.