Where will Nottingham Forest's adventure take us?

Nottingham Forest - Ảnh 1. — Nottingham Forest is entering a crucial stage of the season - Photo: REUTERS

After a break of more than half a month, the Premier League will return in the early hours of April 2nd with a series of matches promising to be fiercely contested in Round 30. Nottingham Forest will host Man United - a team that has almost lost all motivation to compete in the Premier League at this point.

Surprising with each match.

But "more motivation" doesn't necessarily mean more advantages. In fact, the desire to win could cause Nottingham Forest to lose their rhythm. For over six months, manager Nuno Espirito Santo has built a solid counter-attacking style of play for Nottingham Forest. They always enter matches with a tight defensive mindset, carefully capitalizing on every counter-attack, and then winning when their opponents become impatient.

Taking things one step at a time is how Nottingham Forest has become the "dark horse" in English football this season, much to everyone's surprise. With their reckless spending spree, replacing half their squad each season, it's difficult to say that Nottingham Forest has a systematic development strategy like Aston Villa. But football is an exciting game, and in a season where every individual player at Nottingham Forest is in top form, led by an experienced manager, the City Ground team continues to surprise with each game.

No representative of the "big 6" has managed to beat Nottingham Forest twice this season, a statistic that highlights the impressive run of form under manager Santo's team. Manchester United were defeated by them in the first leg, losing 2-3 at Old Trafford. However, at that time, Nottingham Forest weren't considered too strong and approached the match with a defensive counter-attacking mindset.

Should we play offensively?

Now, Manchester United have almost certainly decided to abandon the Premier League and focus their efforts on the Europa League – a competition that could secure them a Champions League spot. It's highly likely that manager Ruben Amorim will opt for a defensive approach for Man United, while Nottingham Forest will have to play offensively to secure a victory.

Why is Nottingham Forest so desperate for a win right now? Because they sit comfortably in third place with 54 points – six points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City and seven points ahead of sixth-placed Newcastle. The reward for their efforts is immense: a place in next season's Champions League. After UEFA's restructuring, Champions League qualification is more valuable than ever.

Statistics show that even the worst-performing teams in this season's Champions League have received direct prize money from UEFA of over 30 million euros, and potentially over 50 million euros if they advance beyond the group stage. For teams like Nottingham Forest, that amount is almost equivalent to their annual wage bill.

Not only Nottingham Forest, but a number of other "dark horses" are also vying for a Champions League spot. These include Brighton (47 points), Fulham (45 points), and Bournemouth (44 points). They are only one win behind Chelsea in the top four.

It would be killing two birds with one stone. For the "dark horses" of the tournament, a Champions League spot would significantly increase their income by 1.5 times. And through that, big clubs like Chelsea or Man City could stumble by missing out on the "golden ticket," opening up an even more exciting opportunity next season.

Match schedule for the early morning of April 2nd.

* 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