Chris Sutton has weighed in on Nottingham Forest’s chances of finishing in the Premier League’s top four following their recent stumble.
The Reds are still third in the table, despite losing three of their last four games to Bournemouth, Fulham, and Newcastle United.
Forest prepare to face Arsenal and Manchester City in two crucial Premier League fixtures.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team will face Arsenal and Manchester City in their next two league games, making things much more difficult. They will welcome the Gunners at the City Ground on Wednesday night (7:30pm) before meeting Pep Guardiola’s side at home on March 8.
Man City and Newcastle are only three points behind Forest in fourth and fifth place, while Bournemouth (sixth) and Chelsea (seventh) trail the Reds by four points.
Sutton told BBC Radio 5Live that he has his own secret recipe when it comes to competing for a spot in the top four. I looked at the fixtures that each team had to play and divided the league up.
“Liverpool and Arsenal are the elite teams, while third to eleventh place are the rivals. The miseries and underachievers rank twelfth to sixteenth, and the wolves rank seventeenth – they are on their own. Ipswich and Leicester are ranked eighteenth and nineteenth, respectively, with little hope. Southampton, ranked 20th, are useless.
“I’ve got Manchester City in third place with 68 points. Nottingham Forest are fourth in my rankings, with 68 points. Manchester City will score more, concede fewer, and have a higher goal differential. Chelsea is fifth with 65, Bournemouth sixth with 64, and Newcastle seventh with 63.
“You also have to consider the other competitions. Chelsea is in the Conference League, and Newcastle is in the Carabao Cup final, so there will be some tension there. Aston Villa has both the FA Cup and the Champions League. They’ve played a game more and will finish seventh with 61 points.
“Brighton will finish ninth out of 60. Fulham will finish tenth, but they have a difficult schedule. Eleventh will be Brentford, I’ve got them both on 57 points but because Fulham play Southampton, I’ve got them to score a few more goals. It’s a fascinating race – you look down to Fulham and Brentford, it’s not impossible with the points they’re on.”
Sutton’s prediction is different to Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville, who thinks Forest will struggle to hold onto a place in the top four.a
Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville said: “I think Nottingham Forest have been absolutely amazing, the story of the season, but I think they’ll find it hard to hang on.
“I hope they hang in there, but I have a feeling it will be challenging for them. I believe City, Villa, Newcastle, and Chelsea might just… Twelve games is a long way to go.
“I believe it could be a long 12 games for Nottingham Forest. I hope they stay there because I believe it would be fantastic for the Premier League.
“We need to see clubs that were in the lowest half of the league the previous season rise to the top six or top four. At the moment, I’m putting City, Newcastle, and Villa in the top five, but it could easily be Forest and Chelsea; I believe it’s pretty close,” he continued.
