Despite a setback to Chelsea at the City Ground, Nuno Espirito Santo’s Nottingham Forest are almost certain to stay in the Premier League.
It must be some kind of backhanded compliment that Nottingham Forest’s almost-certain promotion to the Premier League was so uninteresting that it did not earn any analysis on Match of the Day.
Forest lost 3-2 against Chelsea at the City Ground in their penultimate encounter of the season, after leading 2-1 entering the final 10 minutes of normal time. Wily Boly and Callum Hudson-Odoi put the hosts ahead, but Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson scored twice in two minutes to seal the victory for the visitors, adding to Mykhailo Mudryk’s early opening.
However, the most important results of the afternoon came from London, when Luton Town lost 3-1 to West Ham and Burnley were upset 2-1 by Tottenham. Burnley have been officially relegated, five points behind Forest with one game remaining, and Luton are almost certainly doomed. They trail by three points but are 12 goals down.
MOTD commentator Gary Lineker summed up their situation concisely heading into the final day, saying: “It’s confirmation that Nottingham Forest are as safe as you can be without actually being safe.”
“No win for them (this time though) but I thought it was a very entertaining game and Chelsea continue their recent run of form.”
He continued, “Forest are nearly certain. You don’t dare say anything in case the silliness occurs.
“But despite a points deduction of four points they have stayed up with a total of 29 points and the promoted three clubs have only got 66 points between them.”
Alan Shearer highlighted Jackson’s performance in a brief discussion of the match, but there was no analysis of Forest’s play.
Unless anything goes wrong, Luton and Burnley will rejoin Sheffield United in the Championship, and 29 points might be the lowest survival total since three points for a win were introduced in 1981. West Brom’s previous low was 34 in 2004/05.
No three promoted clubs have scored less combined points. The closest were Sunderland, Birmingham, and Derby (85) in 2007/08, while Norwich, Watford, and Brentford fought for 91 in 2021/22.
Pundit Micah Richards stated, “It just shows you the gap. If you aren’t ready to adjust to the Premier League, you will be punished. Those three promoted teams must do better.”
Nuno Espirito Santo, Forest’s manager, has stated that he will not take anything for granted as the club prepares to travel to Burnley on the last day.
He stated, “Of course, we are disappointed to lose the game and not be able to offer our fans what they expected at the City Ground, which was a victory. That is very frustrating and disappointing for us.
“It’s not over. It is imaginary. But maybe I’m the only one who has seen too much in football to let our guys unwind. We will prepare properly for the next one in order to conclude the season on a high note after a difficult season for all of us as a club.”
