Where will Nottingham Forest venture?

Nottingham Forest are facing a crucial stage of the season - Photo: REUTERS

After more than half a month of suspension, the Premier League will return in the early morning of April 2 with a series of fierce matches in round 30. Nottingham Forest will host Man United - a team that has almost run out of motivation to compete in the Premier League at this time.

Surprise every match

But "more motivation" does not necessarily mean more advantage. In fact, the desire to win may have put Nottingham Forest out of step with themselves. Over the past half year, coach Nuno Espirito Santo has built a solid defensive counter-attacking style for Nottingham Forest. They always enter the match with a tight defensive mindset, cherish each counter-attack, and then win when the opponent is impatient.

Step by step is how Nottingham Forest became the "dark horse" in the surprise of English football this season. With the reckless shopping style, every season changing half of the squad, it is difficult to judge that Nottingham Forest has a methodical development strategy in the way that Aston Villa is doing. But football is an interesting game, in a season when all individuals of Nottingham Forest are in high form, led by an experienced coach, the team at City Ground keeps surprising each match.

No representative of the "big 6" can beat Nottingham Forest twice this season, that is one of the statistics showing the sublimation season as the "dark horse" of coach Santo and his team. Man United was their loser in the first leg with a 2-3 defeat right at Old Trafford. But at that time Nottingham Forest was not rated too highly, they still entered the match with a defensive counter-attacking mentality.

Must play offense?

Now, Man United has almost decided to give up the Premier League to focus on the Europa League - a tournament that can bring the "red devils" a ticket to the Champions League. It is likely that coach Ruben Amorim will choose a defensive style of play for Man United, and Nottingham Forest is the team that must play offensively to win.

Why are Nottingham Forest so desperate for a win right now? Because they are sitting comfortably in third place with 54 points - six points ahead of fifth-placed Man City and seven ahead of sixth-placed Newcastle. The reward for their efforts is huge: a ticket to next season's Champions League. After UEFA's reform, Champions League tickets are more valuable than ever.

The worst-performing teams in the Champions League this season have received direct bonuses from UEFA of more than €30m, and potentially more than €50m if they qualify from the group stage. For teams like Nottingham Forest, that's almost equivalent to their annual wage bill.

Not only Nottingham Forest, a series of "dark horses" are also eyeing a ticket to the Champions League. They are Brighton (47 points), Fulham (45 points) and Bournemouth (44 points). They are only one win behind Chelsea's top 4 position.

It will be a double-whammy. For the "dark horses" of the tournament, a ticket to the Champions League will help them increase their income by one and a half times significantly. And through that, giants like Chelsea or Man City may stumble because they lose their "golden ticket", opening up an even more interesting opportunity next season.

Match schedule early morning 2-4

* 1:45: Arsenal - Fulham, Wolverhampton - West Ham

* 2am: Nottingham Forest - Man United

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HUY DANG

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nottingham-forest-se-phieu-luu-den-dau-20250401110529365.htm