Nottingham Forest eye FA Cup glory in sensational comeback season

Nottingham Forest are halfway into their third season of top-flight soccer, having been promoted back to the English Premier League in 2022 and ending what was an absence of just over two decades from the upper echelon of English soccer at the time. 

After a couple of seasons of trying to find their footing in what had become unfamiliar territory, the former English champions and two-time European Champions League winners find themselves sitting comfortably in third spot in the Premier League. 

For a team that marginally survived relegation last season — after finishing just one spot above the drop zone — Forest have been exceptional this season. The Nuno Espírito Santo-coached team is already on 40 points, which is generally considered the benchmark for teams hoping to avoid being relegation candidates. In their two previous seasons in the top flight, Forest accumulated 38 and 32 points respectively. 

Despite their consistent performances in the league so far this season, many still place the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City over Forest in the conversations for the league title. 

This is largely because no one could have imagined that the Forest would blossom to the point they have this season. Including the team itself. 

“It’s been very good so far,” said Forest defender Neco Williams on the team’s flying start to the 2024/25 season. “That’s just a reflection of the hard work that we’ve been putting in. But we’re still only halfway through and we’ve still got a lot of hard work to go. It’s too early to look into the future at what may happen, but we just take each game as it comes and see what happens,” said Williams. 

Currently, Forest are on a six-game winning streak and will be confident of toppling Luton Town when the two teams tussle in the FA Cup third round on Saturday, 11 January 2025, at 5pm.    

Responding to a question of whether Forest had enough squad depth to maintain their Premier League position, in addition to a serious Cup onslaught, Santo said his team could manage the load. 

“We have a good squad, not only the ones that start. Everyone works very well and everybody deserves to play,” Santo stated. “In our minds there is nothing else besides Luton.” 

Forest’s next match after the Cup tie is against Premier League log leaders Liverpool. 

“Of course, we are going to make changes, because every player deserves to start a game. We see them work and demand a lot from them. So, this is a good chance for them to play and enjoy themselves,” Santo said. 

Manchester dominance 

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. (Photo: EPA-EFE / Adam Vaughan)