Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo might leave the club at the end of this season because of internal tensions. (Footmercato - in French), external

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Pat Riddell
Fan writer

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And so Sunday has shaped up to be the showdown we were almost always expecting. For all Nottingham Forest's trials and tribulations this season, the last day of the season was never going to be a walk in the park.

It is, of course, a time for celebration. To go from the brink of relegation to the brink of the Champions League is an incredible achievement. European football is already guaranteed, yet three competitions remain within our grasp.

We are now dependent on other results going our way for the Champions League, but back in August everybody would have bitten your hand off for the choice of the Uefa Conference League or, if we win our final game against Chelsea, the Europa League.

This group of players have given everything to the cause, the manager has expertly guided and strategised along the way, and the club has backed and supported as best they can. Sometimes, and in Nottingham Forest's case very rarely, everything comes together just at the right time - a happy accident of recruitment or pure genius? Probably somewhere in between.

A team of often overlooked, occasionally forgotten about, even rejected players - and the manager himself fits that category - have come together to prove themselves, to prove that this great club still stands for something. For all the money that the Reds have spent since promotion three years ago, the core of our first XI cost little more than the £100m transfer fee Manchester City spent on Jack Grealish.

This season has been physically and mentally draining - for the fans as much as the players - and while FA Cup glory was a step too far, nobody should overlook the progress made in the past year. As the tattoo on owner Evangelos Marinakis's arm reads: Dream, Love, Create, Fight, Survive, Win. A battle call for Sunday if there ever was one.

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League match between West Ham and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

West Ham fans

Mark: Sack the board, manager and all the players - woeful display.

Steve: Same old West Ham, a season to forget. Too slow and negative in the build-up and really not got going after Forest scored their second goal. So much money spent on average players, aside from Wan-Bissaka, although there are a couple of hopeful names like Guilherme and Summerville who look promising.

Peter: Thank goodness the season is over and we can put it behind us, get a complete makeover and claw our way back to where we belong.

Forest fans

Callum: Nottingham Forest played well - we really needed that win! Here's hoping we can get a win next week against Chelsea at home, I look forward to being there at the world famous City Ground cheering them on! YOUUUUU REEEEDS!

Ben: It is a simple formula for Forest: score first, and you win. And so it proved. A dogged performance from them (despite a late wobble) gives us the final day showdown we were all hoping for. Now if one of the other contenders could play their part and lose then we can all finish the season happy!

John: Phew! When the second goal was finally confirmed that should have been it. But substitutions, indiscipline, VAR and a brilliant volley from Bowen made for a very nervy extra time but, Forest held on to do the double over a questionable West Ham. Too busy bringing their kids on beforehand after beating Manchester United to really get anywhere in this game.

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Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White says the team are ready to fight until the very end for a Champions League spot.

It is all to play for on the final day of the season when Forest host Chelsea, with the result deciding who could finish fifth.

"We've made it difficult for ourselves from where we were but we are going to fight until the end," said Gibbs-White. "We're at home, the City Ground is going to be rocking and we'll need the fans.

"We will plan this week how we're going to go into the game but we will be fighting."

Chelsea are one of three teams on 66 points, alongside Newcastle and Aston Villa, with Manchester City and Nottingham Forest on 65 points.

Five English sides will qualify for the Champions League through the league, up from the usual four, with an extra place secured because of positive results by Premier League clubs in Europe this season.

Chelsea know a win would be enough to secure qualification, but Forest need to beat the Blues and hope at least one team above them slips up if they are to grab a spot in Europe's elite competition.

Match of the Day 2 pundits have been having their say on the race for the Champions League.

Danny Murphy expects Newcastle to be "fine", adding: "At home to Everton, I would say so with those fans behind them.

"Manchester City have got it all in their own hands with that extra game. Bournemouth and Fulham - not easy games but I'd tip them as well.

"If you look around the dressing room and you look at the manager, they're just the best in their class. If they don't have the resilience and fortitude to get through those games then there is a real question mark. They should beat Bournemouth and Fulham nine out of 10 times when they need to."

"That Chelsea-Forest game next week is the pick of the bunch. That's going to be one hell of an atmosphere down there."

Martin Keown said: "I think Forest have been magnificent this year - a breath of fresh air to see how they've performed. It's looking tough for them right now. They just had a little blip at the wrong time but they can't have any regrets to the way they've played this season.

"I think Man City will have enough to get there and so will Aston Villa as well."

Which way will it go? Read more and hear from the managers

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's five Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to the weekend's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

Saturday 17th May

FA Cup final: Crystal Palace 1-0 Manchester City - 5 LIVE

Sunday 18th May

West Ham 1-2 Nottingham Forest - 5 LIVE

Brentford 2-3 Fulham – SPORTS EXTRA 2

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle - 5 LIVE

Nottingham Forest are keen to tie down midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, 25, and winger Callum Hudson-Odoi, 24, to new contracts as soon as possible. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

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Nuno Espirito Santo spoke to BBC Match of The Day after Nottingham Forest's victory against West Ham: "A lot of stoppage in the game so we were anxious to get the game finished.

"Until then [West Ham goal] we were in control. Then the anxiety comes when we allowed the goal and everything is difficult from there. Matz [Sels] did great again so we're happy.

"We started really well. Previous games a lot of bad things happened to us but today was not the case. Today we pressed good, got a good goal, started well in the second half, on the front foot. Generally a good performance.

"The players worked hard to put West Ham under pressure."

On VAR delay: "The referee came to explain the situation, they lost connection with Stockley [Park] that was the delay."

On fighting for Champions League: "It's great. Let's enjoy it, it's going to be a good week for us. If we'd thought in the beginning of the season that we'd be playing to play in the Champions League we'd sign it."

Emma Smith
BBC Sport journalist at London Stadium

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Whatever happens next Sunday against Chelsea, this has been Nottingham Forest's best season since they finished third in 1994-95.

The current class, 30 years later, are matching and yet may exceed the side who earned Uefa Cup qualification under the management of Frank Clark.

Against West Ham, Anthony Elanga recorded his 11th league assist of the campaign - equalling Forest's Premier League season record, set by Bryan Roy in 94-95.

And if he scores twice against the Blues, Chris Wood will match the 22 goals scored by Stan Collymore in Forest's best season of the Premier League era.

Forest need to beat Chelsea and hope other results go their way to avoid going into the Europa League, the successor the competition graced by Clark's boys.

But this win at West Ham, earned over an astonishing 112 minutes and 55 seconds, shows they are ready to fight and go one better with Champions League qualification.

Image source, PA Media

Nottingham Forest have scored 17 goals from opposition errors in the Premier League this season – the most of any side across a single campaign in the competition since Chelsea in 2013-14 (21).

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

What did you make of West Ham's performance?

Have your say on how well Nottingham Forest played

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

Five matches make up Sunday's Premier League action and BBC Sport will bring you every kick.

• Everton v Southampton (12:00) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• West Ham v Nottingham Forest (14:15)

• Brentford v Fulham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Leicester v Ipswich

• Arsenal v Newcastle (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 15:00 BST unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

This is a huge game for my boyhood side, Nottingham Forest.

They need to win to keep their hopes of a top-five finish alive, but my fear is they have already blown it.

I played at the City Ground many times but I think my stint there as a Sky pundit for last weekend's draw with Leicester was the first time I've watched a game there rather than been on the pitch, and it was not enjoyable viewing for us fans.

I thought that game was a must-win for our Champions League hopes, and if they drop more points here they could drop out of contention completely.

I've heard some people say that Forest have bottled it, but I don't agree. They have just run out of steam.

Forest's aim now is to get to next weekend and still be in touch before they host Chelsea in their final game of the season, but whether that happens or not relies on which West Ham team turns up.

The Hammers were on a poor run before they went to Old Trafford last weekend and won. That would usually be an impressive result but it is not much of an achievement at the moment.

I know who I want to win but, for different reasons, it is hard to back either side here.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport Journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against West Ham (kick-off 14:15 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On Taiwo Awoniyi: "He went to surgery, the surgery went well, thank God. He's in observation now. I think he's recovering but we still have to wait for the doctors to allow visits. His family are there, we are concerned but we are positive. The information that we have is that he has to be there for at least five days in observation. We will try to visit him, I will try to visit him as soon as possible but he is in very good hands. What he needs is the support of their family."

• Nuno reiterated that the referees cannot be "blamed" for how the situation with Awoniyi developed because the "law is like that". He said referees have "instructions to follow."

• On the mindset going into last two games: "The mindset is very clear, it is our last opportunity to try and fight for Champions League. We are talking about something so huge for us. We are preparing ourselves and training hard."

• Nuno stated that "it has been difficult" to focus on West Ham because of the absence of Awoniyi and the concern of the players as they were constantly looking for an update on his condition. He reaffirmed that they have an "obligation to prepare" for the game and move forward.

• On West Ham: "We are going to improve our game, we have to be solid. But we are also facing a tough team. Good players, good squad, Potter is there and it's going to be tough on us."

• Nuno said that the group is disappointed with recent results and performances but the "only solution is to regroup and go again".

• The Forest boss stated they "have been able to bounce back from bad moments" and they want to "give it a go".

• On nominations for Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White and himself in the young player, player and manager of the year awards respectively, Nuno said: "The players have been working really well and hard. We've been able to have more good performances than bad and we are delighted. I am a part of something big that is the coaching staff. There's too many people that work really hard behind the scenes that you don't know. I am just the face."

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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In addition to Premier League manager and player of the season, the shortlist for young player has also been announced.

Chelsea's Cole Palmer is in the running to win the award for the second year in a row.

The 23-year-old forward has 15 goals and eight assists in 35 appearances.

Liverpool's Ryan Gravenberch and Liam Delap, who has scored 12 of Ipswich's 35 goals, are also on the eight-player shortlist.

The other nominees are Anthony Elanga (Nottingham Forest), Dean Huijsen (Bournemouth), Joao Pedro (Brighton), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), and William Saliba (Arsenal).

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

Former Nottingham Forest goalkeeper Mark Crossley has been discussing the club's European qualification on the Shut Up and Show More Football podcast: "It is a great achievement, and something I don't think at the beginning of the season any of us expected.

"It has been a great season, it is a bit of a shame it has filtered off towards the end of the season but there is still a chance of Champions League football and the main thing is that club is back in Europe.

"We experienced the Uefa Cup back in the 90s and it was a great tournament with great teams, and it will be nice to get Forest back on the map that way - they're certainly going the right way about doing that again these days.

"I've always been one for saying possession doesn't win you football matches, clean sheets win you football matches and the team have done it superbly. I like the way Nuno has been relaxed about it all and just get on it.

"I think the injuries they are getting towards the end of the season now is down to the sheer hard work. When you watch the team, I love the way the players come off absolutely shattered which means they have out hell of a lot into every single game. Eventually it will catch up to you when you have not got a massive squad.

"The players will be thinking now, after all the hard work we have done, just the final step now in the season – can we go that one step further?

"Everyone can be very proud of this season."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

The Premier League have announced the nominations for Premier League player of the season award.

After winning the league title, Liverpool have three representatives with Mohamed Salah, captain Virgil van Dijk and Ryan Gravenberch.

Forward Salah has scored 28 goals and provided 18 assists, and is just one goal or assist away from matching the all-time record for most goal involvements in a single campaign.

Nottingham Forest have two nominees in Morgan Gibbs-White, who has netted six goals, made eight assists and created 50 chances, and Chris Wood, who has enjoyed the best season of his career in scoring 20 goals.

Arsenal, who had been Liverpool's closest challenges for much of the season, are represented by Declan Rice, after the midfielder reached double figures for combined goals (three) and assists (seven).

Newcastle United have one player on the list with Alexander Isak, who is nominated for the second season running after scoring 23 times - the second-most goals in the 2024-25 Premier League campaign.

Bryan Mbeumo becomes the first Brentford nominee for the award having reached 25 direct goal involvements - the third-most in the Premier League - thanks to 18 goals and seven assists.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, Getty Images

The Premier League 2024-25 manager of the year shortlist, external has been announced.

Nottingham Forest's Nuno Espirito Santo, Brentford's Thomas Frank, Newcastle United's Eddie Howe, Wolves' Vitor Pereira and Liverpool's Arne Slot have all been nominated.

Voting closes 12:00 BST on Monday 19 May.

The votes from the public will then be combined with those of a panel of football experts to decide the winner.

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Nottingham Forest have won their past two league games against West Ham and are looking to complete their first league double over the Hammers since 1983-84.

Anthony Elanga has provided 10 assists in the Premier League this season - the only Nottingham Forest player with more in a single campaign is Bryan Roy (11 in 1994-95).