{"id":653449,"date":"2025-04-07T15:52:08","date_gmt":"2025-04-07T19:52:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/?p=653449"},"modified":"2025-04-07T15:52:08","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T19:52:08","slug":"champions-league-football-very-likely-analysing-nottingham-forests-run-in","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/2025\/04\/07\/champions-league-football-very-likely-analysing-nottingham-forests-run-in\/","title":{"rendered":"Champions League Football Very Likely: Analysing Nottingham Forest’s Run-In"},"content":{"rendered":"

Nottingham Forest have outperformed all expectations this season to sit comfortably third in the Premier League table, and look set to secure Champions League<\/a> football for the first time since 1980. With just seven games to go, LWOS analyse the Tricky Trees\u2019 remaining fixtures, and the earliest date they can clinch a fairytale return to Europe\u2019s premier competition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Analysing Nottingham Forest\u2019s Run In: What Are Their Remaining Fixtures?<\/h2>\n

Everton (H): <\/b>Sunday, April 12, 3pm GMT<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reverse Fixture: 0-2 win<\/b><\/h4>\n

First up, Forest take on Everton<\/a> at the City Ground. Following defeat away at Aston Villa last time out, Nuno Espirito Santo\u2019s side will look to get back on track with a winnable home fixture.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Toffees had a shaky start to the season, and didn’t hesitate to sack Sean Dyche in January with the club just one point above the relegation zone. However, the return of club favourite David Moyes has led to a dramatic upturn in form, with Everton now sitting in 15th, 15 points clear of the relegation zone.<\/span><\/p>\n

Despite Moyes’s instant impact, Everton are winless in their last six games, drawing five and losing one. The Toffees have struggled all season to find the back of the net, managing just 33 goals, the fewest of any team outside the bottom three.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Tottenham (A): <\/b>Monday, April 21, 8pm GMT<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reverse Fixture: 1-0 win<\/b><\/h4>\n

Tottenham Hotspur have had a very poor 2024\/25 campaign. Ange Postecoglou\u2019s side sit in 14th place, having lost 16 of their 31 Premier League games. A tally of just 37 points leaves them only 5 points off 17th place, a shockingly disappointing season for a \u201cbig six\u201d side.<\/span><\/p>\n

Forest will therefore fancy their chances against the inconsistent North Londoners, especially given Nuno\u2019s history with the club.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After an injury crisis decimated Tottenham\u2019s squad earlier in the season, they now look almost back to full strength, with Mickey van de Ven, Dominic Solanke, and Cristian Romero all back fit.<\/span><\/p>\n

Brentford (H): <\/b>Thursday, May 1, 7:30pm GMT<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reverse Fixture: 0-2 win<\/b><\/h4>\n

A home clash against Brentford is next up, meaning Forest have three games in a row against bottom-half teams they have already beaten this season. It\u2019s been another impressive campaign for Thomas Frank\u2019s side, who remain in outside contention for a first-ever European qualification in the club\u2019s history.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bryan Mbeumo and Yoanne Wissa remain the Bees\u2019 most dangerous players, having scored 16 and 14 league goals respectively, so will need to be marked tightly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Forest\u2019s monumental FA Cup semi-final showdown against Manchester City will take place on the Sunday prior, giving Nuno a slight headache in regards to squad rotation, especially with strikers Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi both suffering injury blows in recent weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n

Crystal Palace (A): <\/b>Monday, May 5, 8pm GMT<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reverse Fixture: 1-0<\/b><\/h4>\n

An away trip to Crystal Palace looks a tough prospect, with the South Londoners in sparkling form. Oliver Glasner\u2019s side have won four of their last five games and are unbeaten in seven.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Eagles have conceded just 35 goals this season, two less than Forest, as Glasner\u2019s 3-4-2-1 system has provided excellent defensive stability and organisation. At the other end of the pitch, Jean-Phillipe Mateta is in red-hot form, scoring 16 goals in all competitions this campaign, whilst Eberechi Eze is always one to watch.<\/span><\/p>\n

However, another clash against a mid-table side should allow Forest to shore up their spot in the Champions League places, especially with fifth place likely to secure UCL qualification this season.<\/span><\/p>\n

Leicester City (H): <\/b>Sunday, May 11, 2:15pm GMT<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reverse fixture: 1-3 win<\/b><\/h4>\n

Forest\u2019s rather favourable run-in continues with perhaps their easiest remaining game: a home clash against local rivals Leicester City.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Foxes have been in dismal form since Ruud van Nistelrooy took over, winning just one of their 11 league games in 2025. They have conceded a whopping 67 goals this season and only scored 25, an eye-watering disparity that highlights just how poor they have been at both ends of the park.<\/span><\/p>\n

In contrast, Forest have scored 51 goals and conceded 37, and should easily brush aside their hapless Midlands rivals, especially with a raucous City Ground fired up on derby day.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

West Ham (A): <\/b>Sunday, May 18, 3pm GMT<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reverse fixture: 3-0 win<\/h4>\n

The penultimate game of the season sees the Tricky Trees take on West Ham, marking another game against a bottom-half side who have struggled this year. The Hammers\u2019 season-long inconsistent form has continued under new boss Graham Potter, and they have won just one of their last ten games.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With West Ham having nothing to play for, Forest will likely have far greater motivation and significantly more momentum going into this away fixture, and should make short work of Potter\u2019s side.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Chelsea (H): <\/b>Sunday, May 25, 4pm GMT<\/b><\/h3>\n

Reverse F<\/strong>ixture: 1-1<\/strong><\/p>\n

Finally, Nuno\u2019s side face top-five rivals Chelsea<\/a> at home on the final day of the season. By this point, it is likely that Champions League football will be guaranteed, making the occasion more of a party than a nail-biting affair.<\/span><\/p>\n

It has been somewhat of a mixed first season for Enzo Maresca, as whilst Champions League qualification would be a solid achievement, the Blues have spent an enormous amount of money on signing new players, and have failed to impress on a number of occasions.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

An assured home win against a fellow Champions League team could provide the seal on what has been nothing short of a miraculous season for Nottingham Forest.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Is the Earliest That Forest Can Secure a Champions League Place?<\/h3>\n

Nottingham Forest currently sit in third place on 57 points, giving them a six-point gap over Aston Villa in sixth. Having lost to Villa on Saturday April 5, the earliest that Forest can secure qualification is Thursday, May 1, after their home clash against Brentford.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For this unlikely scenario to happen, Nuno\u2019s side would need to beat Everton, Tottenham, and Brentford, putting them on 66 points. They would then need Newcastle and Aston Villa both to lose all of their games between now and May 1, except for when they play each other on April 19, which would need to end in a draw.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although May 1 is unlikely to be the date of Forest\u2019s historic Champions League qualification, Opta <\/a>sets the likelihood of the East Midlands side securing a top-five place at 74%, a long way ahead of rivals Newcastle (37%), Chelsea (25%) and Villa (9%).<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Nottingham Forest have outperformed all expectations this season to sit comfortably third in the Premier League table, and look set to secure Champions League football for the first time since 1980. With just seven games to go, LWOS analyse the Tricky Trees\u2019 remaining fixtures, and the earliest date they can clinch a fairytale return to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5510,"featured_media":636793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4475,3],"tags":[86,891],"class_list":["post-653449","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nottingham-forest","category-premier-league","tag-champions-league","tag-nottingham-forest"],"modified_by":"Henry Chung, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653449","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5510"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=653449"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653449\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":653483,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/653449\/revisions\/653483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/636793"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=653449"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=653449"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/football\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=653449"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}