Nottingham Forest

Charlotte Coates
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Eyebrows were raised when Nottingham Forest signed Callum Hudson-Odoi from Chelsea in the summer for a fee less than £5 million.

This is a player who was the subject of bids from Bayern Munich in 2019 but an Achilles tendon injury slowed his progress and he struggled to cement a place in Chelsea 's side after recovering.

His start to life at the City Ground has been steady but nothing special, although he may now be announcing himself as one of the star men.

Hudson-Odoi, who has three England caps, scored in stoppage time for Nottingham Forest and cemented a well-earned victory to lift them five points clear of Everton in the bottom three.

That goal means he has scored in his third game on the bounce for the first time in his Premier League career.

With Nuno Espirito Santo admitting Taiwo Awoniyi’s fitness is an “issue”, Hudson-Odoi looks like the man to take the load off the Forest striker.

Nuno Espirito Santo speaking to BBC Match of the Day after Nottingham Forest's victory over West Ham: "It feels good after a performance like we did. We played really good football, were dominant, were in control, kept a clean sheet which is so important for us. I think we were the better team today so it pleases me more."

On the defensive performance, Nuno added: "They were very aggressive, the distances on top of West Ham players didn't allow them to decide. This is what we are trying to give them, the confidence to release and play their football because they have talent."

On Taiwo Awoniyi: "Strikers are about scoring but for us it's more than that. They have to work, they have to read the game and when the moment comes put it inside the net. We know he's struggling in terms of fitness, it's up to us to manage him."

On the Neco Williams penalty appeal: "It's obvious, I saw the image which is why I'm so confident I'm saying this. I don't understand why VAR didn't give it. They have to speak to each other and understand why."

On how Forest are progressing: "I think we have to go step by step, there's a lot of detail we have to improve. We were able to improve in certain parts of the game but still a long way to go. We are trying every day, the commitment is very important, but we expect even more from them."

• West Ham have lost their past three games in the Premier League, all without scoring a single goal. It is the first time that the Hammers have lost three consecutive league games without scoring since August 2022, with that run also featuring a defeat at Nottingham Forest.

• Nottingham Forest have kept a clean sheet in the Premier League for the first time in 14 games. Meanwhile, this was Forest’s third victory over West Ham in the Premier League, with the Tricky Trees recording a shutout in each of those victories.

• West Ham are winless across their six Premier League games in 2024 (D3 L3), with the Hammers failing to win any of their opening six league games of a calendar year for the first time since 20047 (first eight).

• Nicolas Dominguez has been directly involved in a goal in each of his past two Premier League appearances (2 assists), as many goal involvements as he managed in his first 14 games.

• Kalvin Phillips received his first ever red card in the Premier League. However, it is his fifth dismissal across his English league career and second at the City Ground, after also being sent off for Leeds against Nottingham Forest in January 2019 in the Championship.

Nottingham Forest climbed five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone and added to the pressure on West Ham United manager David Moyes with a deserved victory at the City Ground.

Taiwo Awoniyi gave the home side the lead just before half-time and Callum Hudson-Odoi made sure of the win in added time when he scored for the third consecutive game.

On-loan midfielder Kalvin Phillips was shown two yellow cards in three minutes as he had another game to forget for West Ham.

Forest move up to 15th while Moyes' side's failure to bounce back from the 6-0 thrashing against Arsenal last Sunday means they stay eighth.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from home?

Forest fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Hammers fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

There are seven games being played in the Premier League on Saturday and we will bring you every moment.

Follow all of the action and reaction here

All times are GMT

BBC pundit Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on rapper Songer, who is a Chelsea fan.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

It is fair to say that both of these teams need a victory. Neither side has managed one in the Premier League in 2024, and this is a hard one to call.

The usual way of thinking with West Ham would be to ask if they are going to bounce back from their 6-0 home defeat by Arsenal. I am going to say they won't.

We know David Moyes' teams have been resilient in the past but I cannot back anyone who has been beaten that heavily the previous week - it is not just a case of clicking your fingers and turning it around.

The Hammers surely cannot be as lax as they were against Arsenal, but I am going with Nottingham Forest to find a way through.

Songer's prediction: 0-0

This is definitely not one for the neutral! The West Ham fans were furious when I watched them the other day and you could feel it, so I am not sure if the players are going to have much motivation.

Read all of Sutton's predictions for this weekend's games

The key facts and figures before Saturday's game between Nottingham Forest and West Ham in the Premier League.

• Nottingham Forest have lost nine of their past 13 Premier League matches (W2 D2), including three of their four in 2024 so far (D1). Since the start of November, no side has lost more games in the competition than Forest (9, level with Brentford and Burnley).

• West Ham have lost both of their past two league games, conceding nine goals in the process, as many as they had in their previous eight in the Premier League beforehand. The Hammers have also failed to score in those two defeats; not since August 2022 have they lost three league games in a row without scoring, a run that included a 1-0 defeat away to Nottingham Forest.

• Nottingham Forest have conceded in each of their past 13 Premier League matches (29 conceded) since a 2-0 win over Aston Villa in November. Indeed, they have kept the fewest clean sheets of any ever-present side over the past two seasons (11 in 62 games).

• David Moyes has won a Premier League match at 37 different stadiums, although his one game at the City Ground ended in a 1-0 defeat. The only managers with a win at more different stadiums in the competition are Arsène Wenger (48), Alex Ferguson (47), Harry Redknapp (39) and José Mourinho (38).

• Anthony Elanga has been directly involved in 11 goals in 23 Premier League appearances for Nottingham Forest (5 goals, 6 assists) – no player has ever been involved in more goals aged 21 or younger for Forest in the Premier League (Brennan Johnson, also 11).

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to the media before Nottingham Forest's match against West Ham United on Saturday.

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Africa Cup of Nations finalists Ibrahim Sangare, Willy Boly and Ola Aina will not be available for the game. They are all set to rejoin with the squad soon.

• Nuno hasn't spoken to Aina yet, after he narrowly missed out on the Afcon title with Nigeria, with the manager stating: "We expect him to arrive today. We mentioned before that it was a final. Ibrahim, Willy and Serge were champions, we have to congratulate them. At the same time, Ola is disappointed. He will have another chance in the future for sure."

• There are no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game, so the squad will be "basically the same" as the one which faced Newcastle United. Nuno explained that there are still "a lot of issues" with injuries in the squad.

• He revealed what they have been working on in training, after not having any midweek fixtures: "We are offensively very strong, we are scoring and creating a lot of chances, but we have to improve in the other box. We have to be more aggressive and solve situations because we are conceding goals from our own mistakes."

• On conceding from set pieces and dealing with central midfielder James Ward-Prowse: "We have to be aware that they have a good delivery. James is quite a consistent kicker of the ball. At the same time, they are big players and aggressive on set pieces but we have to prepare and be ready for this."

• On whether now is a good time to be playing West Ham, who have lost their last two games and conceded nine goals without scoring, Nuno said: "They are a good team, the table shows it. What happened before, there will be a reaction [to the 6-0 defeat to Arsenal]. We know how hard it is to play West Ham but we have to focus on ourselves."

• Nuno believes Callum Hudson-Odoi has recently found form due to playing more: "He has been playing and that's a big thing for a player. When you have the chance to play, you improve. He's combining well with his team-mates but we still expect a lot of good things because the talent is there."

• He is "thankful" for the Nottingham Forest supporters still being in good voice: "This is what we have and we are so thankful for it. Our fans are amazing and we cannot thank them enough. It has been fantastic."

Follow Thursday's news conferences here

Nottingham Forest are in danger. They made the manager change and they got an initial bounce but it hasn't been easy for Nuno Espirito Santo.

His first match was a home game that was quite strange against Bournemouth with the controversial straight red card for Willy Boly. They then got a win at Newcastle and beat Manchester United too. I covered them last week in the FA Cup, but with a very depleted squad with lots of players away, injured, suspended and not eligible, they only just squeezed through against Bristol City on penalties.

They are in and around it, and I don't think they're doing poorly, I just feel like they've had a real depth of squad issue. You know going forward that they're going to get results, it's just a matter of getting more of the players back into the side, more of the players available.

They've got some talent, they've got some goalscorers, people who can change games. Morgan Gibbs-White has been excellent, Anthony Elanga when he's available has pace, Callum Hudson-Odoi has done well and Taiwo Awoniyi coming back will make a difference if he can get fit quite quickly. Things will settle down now the transfer window has gone, players coming back and they've got an experienced manager.

I don't think Nuno will be used to being right at the bottom in that relegation fight, but I think he has gained experiences from his last couple of appointments since Wolves. He'll be ready for the challenge. Half the problem is just juggling the squad, finding out what is the best starting XI. As you think you're getting there, the window comes, players leave again, injury happens, suspensions, so I think in a couple of weeks we'll see an improvement from Forest.

Michael Brown was speaking to BBC Sport's Nicola Pearson

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Supporting Nottingham Forest has never been easy. It is not supposed to be. If waiting 23 years for a return to the top flight was not bad enough, having two seasons of doubt about whether we would actually stay there is really all we can expect.

As we go into the final third of the campaign with a fairly settled squad and enough promise to give us hope, the threat of a points deduction is currently making everyone question every single decision in every single game.

And if the possibility of a future punishment of our own making causes this much anguish, then the current and ongoing policy of self-inflicted wounds is proof that supporting the Reds is tantamount to some sort of Stockholm syndrome.

Six times we have lost in games ending 3-2 this season. We have conceded from set pieces on 15 occasions. Our ever-present goal threat on the break is invariably neutered by our habit of gifting goals to the opposition.

While the squad is surely only too aware of this themselves, and the return of big players is a huge boost to our predicament, as supporters all we can do really is support.

The cauldron of noise that the City Ground has been in recent years is our best hope of ensuring those remaining home fixtures are as difficult as possible for away teams.

Beyond that, the club's destiny still remains in its own hands.

Pat Riddell can be found at The Famous Club, external

We asked you for your thoughts on Saturday's Premier League match between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle.

Here are some of your comments:

Forest fans

Tom: Forest’s performance against Newcastle was much improved from the ‘batten-down-the-hatches’ approach taken against Arsenal, and the lacklustre showing in the FA Cup. The new goalkeeper Mats Sels showed a marked improvement in distribution, however more goals conceded from silly mistakes mean Forest are their own worst enemy.

Andy: We were good today. There were some real positives for us. Callum Hudson-Odoi has really improved, Anthony Elanga looks class, and Morgan Gibbs-White is really starting to drive us forward. I look forward to the rest of the season.

Matt: I think Forest deserved a draw today and were unlucky in the end. Yes, it is imperative that we defend set pieces better. For me, much softer penalties than Taiwo Awoniyi's have been given for other teams this season but, yet again, Forest don't get one. That moment was crucial. It could have easily been 3-2 to Forest after 65 minutes.

Samuel: We play some beautiful football but we just haven’t got that player to put the ball in the back of the net. We had two great results after Steve Cooper's sacking - since then we haven’t improved. Time is running out!

Newcastle fans

Stephen: We looked out of sorts tonight with a few players not at their best. Anthony Gordon especially gave the ball away a lot tonight. Bruno Guimaraes was excellent but we really seem to miss Joe Willock in midfield. However, we did enough to get the three points and that's all that counts at the minute. We showed a lot of character again, which is a positive.

Victor: Very average. We have too many players with no touch. They graft but it's huff-and-puff stuff. Bruno was class. Gordon and Lewis Miley are exhausted. Dan Burn and Sven Botman are lacking pace. We will be lucky to get into the top seven. It was a battling performance though.

Richy: We can all see that Burn is struggling. He is an easy target for the opposition and it's unbalancing the team. He has been great for us and has a role to play but we can’t afford sentiment if we want to progress. It was nice to see us tighten up and cling on to a lead in a tight game - it’s been a while!

Richard: Remember when we used to keep clean sheets? I think the character of the team is magnificent and our last two results have shown this, but I’d be even happier if we stopped letting in so many goals. It’s not a back-five issue. The team need to plug the holes! We can’t keep relying on tenacity to get points.

Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis from Saturday's seven Premier League matches.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentaries in full on BBC Sounds:

Liverpool 3-1 Burnley

Nottingham Forest 2-3 Newcastle

Image source, Reuters

Emily Salley, BBC Sport

Nottingham Forest’s search for a first Premier League win of 2024 continues and a quick look at the table shows how important it is they get one soon.

After taking the lead for a third time, Newcastle made sure they managed the game well and Forest lacked a cutting edge to break through once more.

The Reds have been forced into two FA Cup replay matches in the last few weeks and perhaps those additional minutes, particularly Wednesday’s win over Bristol City that needed a penalty shootout, have taken their toll on an already depleted squad.

Nuno Espirito Santo will be desperate for the rest of his players competing in the Africa Cup of Nations to return, with the Ivory Coast’s Serge Aurier, Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangare, along with Nigeria’s Ola Aina all due back after Sunday’s final.

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo speaking to Sky Sports after the defeat: "A good performance. We did a lot of things good, some things bad that really cost us. We didn't defend the corner for the third goal well, but overall we played good. The boys fight and we had chances to make a difference."

On conceding from another set piece: "We require focus, concentration, being aggressive, attacking the ball, solving the problem and not being too passive. We are not there."

On the penalty decisions: "It's hard. I'm very polite in these situations. I don't like to interfere too much but, when VAR have time to see and check it over and over again, they don't see what I see. It happens, let's move on.

"More important for me is to try and look at how we play. We did well, created a lot of situations, controlling the game in the second half, playing good. We have to be focused and look at the details.

"The final decision was good. We had 1v1s with the goalkeeper. We are finding the right space but we need to improve on the finishing.

"We've been working very hard, the boys are committed. It's about trying to convert results from spells of good football, and we have to improve defensively."

Here are the key facts and figures following Saturday's game between Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

• Newcastle have won consecutive away league games against Nottingham Forest for the first time since January 1966.

• The Magpies took the lead three times in a Premier League game that they went on to win for the first time since October 2005 under Graeme Souness (3-2 against Sunderland ). It’s the first time they have ever done so in an away game in the competition.

• Nottingham Forest have lost six of their last seven Premier League home games (W1), while they have lost their opening two home league games of a calendar year for the first time since 2018 (first three games).

• Fabian Schar has scored three goals in his last two Premier League away games, as many as he scored in his previous 68 away appearances in the competition (3 goals).

• Nottingham Forest have conceded 18 goals from set-pieces in the Premier League this season, the most of any side. Only Burnley (9) have conceded more goals from corners than Forest (8) in the competition this term.

• No player has assisted more goals in the Premier League this season than Kieran Tripper (10). He also became the first Newcastle player to register 10 or more assists in a single Premier League season since Laurent Robert in 2001-02 (11).

Image source, Getty Images

Former Tottenham defender Stephen Kelly speaking about the result on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra: "A huge win for Newcastle.

"Nottingham Forest will be devastated not to come away with something, especially having had a penalty claim turned down. But, in the second half, they didn't do enough.

"They couldn't get in behind Newcastle often enough to get that third goal. A fantastic goal from [Bruno] Guimaraes to win it for Newcastle.

"The changes that Eddie Howe made after that helped the team to manage the game, close the space for Forest and secure a vital away win."

Bruno Guimaraes' sublime second-half strike helped Newcastle United to a 3-2 victory against Nottingham Forest in a lively Premier League encounter.

Forest twice fought back from behind with Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi cancelling out goals from Guimaraes and Fabian Schar.

But Guimaraes secured the three points for the visitors with a brilliant finish in the 66th minute.

Defeat for Forest leaves them just two points clear of the relegation zone.

After a dramatic 4-4 draw against Luton Town the previous weekend, Eddie Howe's side played out another thrilling game at the City Ground - this time coming out on top to move up to seventh in the Premier League standings.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from home?

Forest fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Newcastle fans?

Follow all of the reaction here