Nottingham Forest vs Leicester City

Nottingham Forest’s faltering pursuit of a top-five finish in the Premier League continues at the City Ground against Leicester City.

What shaped up to be a historic campaign for Nottingham Forest has recently spiraled into chaos, with the Tricky Trees heading into proceedings outside of the Champions League qualification spots for the first time since the start of the season. Little did they know they would enter the final three rounds two points adrift of the top five when they beat Manchester United 1-0 in early April. However, just one win from their subsequent five league outings (D1, L3) significantly derailed Forest’s quest to dine out at Europe’s top table for the first time since 1980/81. Scoring problems have marred Forest down the final stretch, with Nuno Espirito Santo’s side netting under 1.5 goals in five of their last six matches across all competitions. However, they could pull off their first league double over Leicester since 1994/95 following a 3-1 win in the reverse fixture. 

On the other hand, Leicester will be out to throw a dent in Forest’s top-five charge, and scoring first could help them achieve that goal. Indeed, Espirito Santo’s men have won just one of their ten EPL games when conceding first this season (D1, L8). The Foxes claimed only their fifth league win of the season last weekend with a 2-0 triumph against dead-last Southampton, ensuring they cannot finish at the bottom despite suffering relegation with several matches to spare. Therefore, they’ll try to post back-to-back league wins for the first time since October, even though it’ll likely be a tall order. They have lost six of their last seven away league games (D1), while they lament a dreadful 18-game league record at the City Ground (W1, D5, L12).