West Ham United vs Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest’s faltering pursuit of a Premier League top-five finish takes them to London Stadium for a must-win clash against West Ham United.

Fresh off beating Manchester United 2-0 at Old Trafford to snap a dreadful run of alternating between drawing (4) and losing (4) across eight previous Premier League outings, West Ham return to London Stadium, seeking their first home win since late February. Graham Potter’s men will finish in the lower reaches regardless of the outcome, yet fans would appreciate a win after four straight home matches without one (D3, L1). Forest’s upcoming visit could provide just that, with the Irons winning five of their six Premier League home H2Hs, including both since the Tricky Trees’ top-flight return in 2022. However, a lack of defensive resilience has seen West Ham keep just two home league clean sheets all season. Encouragingly, they’ve not lost their final home game of a Premier League campaign in the past seven years (W5, D2).

In the meantime, Nottingham Forest’s late collapse has significantly dented their hopes of securing Champions League football, with a 2-2 home draw against an already-relegated Leicester City extending their winless league run to three games (D2, L1). As a result, Nuno Espirito Santo’s charges head into the penultimate round outside the top five and in desperate need of three points. Confidence comes from Forest’s formidable road record this season, with only newly-crowned champions Liverpool (11) winning more Premier League away matches than the Tricky Trees (9). That said, only two of Forest’s last five top-flight travels have yielded victories (D1, L2), though both came against West Ham’s fellow bottom-half rivals Tottenham and Ipswich.