'High hopes', 'Tough one' - Chris Sutton & Alan Shearer agree on Nottingham Forest v Leeds United prediction

Chris Sutton expects Leeds United to kick their new season off with a point at Nottingham Forest this afternoon.

The Whites head to the City Ground looking to kickstart their second Premier League campaign with a bang. Daniel Farke’s side won four of their six pre-season friendlies and will arrive in Nottingham full of optimism having built on a 14th-place finish with plenty of smart recruitment.

Hosts Forest were battling with Leeds to survive last season but the appointment of former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner should see them climb away from danger. And Sutton expects this afternoon’s opening game to be evenly-contested and near-impossible to predict.

In his predictions column for BBC Sport, Sutton wrote: “I was delighted for Leeds boss Daniel Farke that he proved people wrong by keeping them up last year. There will be high hopes they can stay out of trouble this time after signing Harry Wilson, who was so good for Fulham, and James Trafford is an excellent buy too.

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“I am covering this game for Radio 5 Live but it is almost impossible to predict. Glasner usually went with a 3-4-3 shape at Palace but has gone on record saying he works with what he has got, so I am not sure how they will line up for this game. It will be very interesting to see how Forest start, and how Glasner fares. Will he still be there in September? Sutton's prediction: 1-1.”

Leeds could hand out competitive debuts to all four of their new signings, with Nico Elvedi registered in time to feature following his £8.5million move from Borussia Monchengladbach. Harry Wilson, Tarik Muharemovic and club-record signing James Trafford have all impressed in pre-season.

Like Sutton, Alan Shearer also admits having trouble knowing what to expect from this afternoon’s City Ground clash. But the former Newcastle United striker also expects Farke’s side to travel back to West Yorkshire with a point.

“This is a really tough one to predict. I’m going to go a draw,” Shearer told Betfairhttps://www.betfair.com/betting/football/english-premier-league/c-10932509. “I think Leeds will do all right this season. They made a couple of good signings. So, I’m going to go a draw. Oliver Glasner is a really good appointment by Forest, he knows the Premier League and did unbelievably well at Palace. Prediction: Draw.”