How Nottingham Forest went from the brink of relegation to eyeing off the Champions League

Champions League football is now a possibility for the team, which was in a relegation struggle the previous season

and just survived to stay in the Premier League. A solid spot in the converted top four goes to Forest.

The team finished 2023–2024 with 32 points after nine victories and nine draws. Just after Christmas, they had

already won 12 games and drawn four, putting them at 40 points. In addition, the team’s six consecutive victories—a

Premier League record—have swept the nation.

Only two games separate them from league leaders Liverpool and two wins separate them from defending

champions Manchester City.

These six wins have come from tough matches. Despite losing to Manchester City, Notts then went on to beat

Manchester United, Aston Villa and Tottenham in this dream run, demonstrating incredible levels of consistency.

The club spent £106 million (AUD$211 million)in the 2023/24 off-season so this continued investment has finally

started to pay off.

Morgan Gibbs-White of Nottingham Forest celebrates after scoring a goal.

Forest have discovered counter-attacking football as their means to win games. Murillo at centre-back has been

imposing and has led the defence to a PL-high nine clean sheets. This has been critical to their success and formula

for winning games.

Nottingham Forest need a stronger defence than most due to having the lowest possession rate at 39.9 per cent.

Being disciplined and waiting for their opposition to make mistakes, while not conceding themselves, creates

chances for Nottingham up the other end.

Statistics point to a Champions League berth for the Reds. Only four clubs to have scored 40 points at this time of

the season have failed to reach the top four in Premier League history. This could mean Forest are on track to break a

45-year drought.

Liverpool on January 15 will be the benchmark for Forest, and if they can get points out of the league leaders, the

City Ground stadium will party throughout the night as some dare to dream that a 2016 Leicester City miracle could

be repeated.

Nottingham isn’t supposed to be in the Champions League, but finishing sixth would still get them into European

competition, which is a huge accomplishment.

However, given the history of relegation, the goalposts shouldn’t be moved due to a successful season—at least not

just yet.

The objective for Forest now must be to sustain this performance for the remainder of the season while also making

sure the starting lineup stays together rather than being cut. This is because there have been teams that have risen as

fast as they have fallen.

Forest can find themselves back in the relegation zone the next season if they lose too many players.

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