Nottingham Forest will lose against Aston Villa, predicts Chris Sutton.
The Reds will face Steven Gerrard's Villa at the City Ground on Monday night. And they head into the match on the back of a fifth straight defeat in the Premier League which has left them bottom of the table and manager Steve Cooper's future in doubt.
"Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper has kept his job for now, but the noises coming out of the City Ground cannot be making him feel too optimistic about his future," said Sutton.
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"Cooper said after his side's defeat at Leicester that "where we've fallen short is that we're not a team" which is a worry. I always thought it was going to be tremendously difficult to go out and build a new team that could compete in the Premier League.
"It's hard to gauge where Aston Villa are at, after seeing them unable to break down a Leeds side that played with 10 men for almost the entire second half.
"There are a few disgruntled Villa fans who think their side haven't made the progress they would have liked under Gerrard. Philippe Coutinho has been a let-down this season, and overall they are quite workmanlike, even when they get a positive result.
"I fancy Villa here, though. I think Forest's confidence is at a low ebb and they are far too open at the back to hold out for 90 minutes - I'm going with Coutinho to come good, and get the winner. He probably won't start now."
Sutton's prediction: 0-1
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