A deep dive into Nottingham Forest's impressive season

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With the surprise package of this Premier League season certainly being Nuno Espirito Santo' Forest, questions arise over their sudden upturn in form, especially following two seasons where Forest faced gruelling relegation battles.

How did this happen?

Is it sustainable for the remainder of this season?

And should the Reds qualify for Europe, how well can we expect them to do?

A key factor to understanding the incredible stats which have taken Forest to 3rd in the league, is understanding that the key components were already in place. Forest's top scorer, Chris Wood, only started playing regularly for the Trentside club in December 2023, yet still notched 14 league goals that campaign. That said, his current record of 18 goals in 25 appearances is up there with the country's best.

Star Striker Wood

Playing for the side with the lowest possession in the entire league, whose entire game plan is focused on direct counter-attacking football (Forest play 39.1% of their passes forwards - the highest proportion in the Prem), the not-so-rapid, old-school-centre-forward known as Chris Wood, is an enigma yet to be cracked by Premier League defences.

In terms of expected goals (scored and conceded) the fact of the matter is that last year Forest under-achieved, and this year they're exceeding their underlying numbers.

Nuno has created a tight-nit, happy group of lads, with minimal changes inspiring the team to victory. Few would have expected the team who signed 30+ players in their first season back in the Prem, to not bring in a single addition in the winter window of 2025. And what's more, it's plain to see Forest were happy with their window. The higher-ups in Nottingham appreciate the strength of the squad and the possibilities of reaching Europe.

Based on that squad depth and strength, it seems Forest have enough as a collective unit to qualify for the Champions League. Should they achieve what must now be their primary objective, it will go down as one of the great shocks of the modern English game. In an era where the Premier League appears to be as polarised as ever from the league below, Forest, who spent over 20 years out of the top flight, have had to push through the boundaries to overcome adversity.

If they beat Newcastle this Sunday, they will propel themselves into a nine point lead over one of their top-four rivals, surely an insurmountable gap. With the top five in the Prem likely qualifying for Europe's premier club competition, for Forest fans, the dream is real.

In 1978 after achieving promotion to the first division, Forest immediately won the league, and then the European Cup (former Champions League) back-to-back. This time, is it on again? Who knows?