Nottingham Forest suffered a setback in their Champions League push on Saturday against David Moyes’ Everton.
It was as cagey an affair as one would expect from these two defensively solid teams. With the score level at 0-0 after 90 minutes, there looked to be nothing separating the two sides. That is until Abdoulaye Doucoure snatched a late winner to silence the City Ground.
That’s two losses on the bounce for Forest—droppng them closer to the pursuing pack of Champions League hopefuls.
But while concerns may be creeping into the minds of fans, Everton boss David Moyes had some words of reassurance for the opposition.
David Moyes backs Nottingham Forest’s European chances
Moyes has some experience in this area, having competed in Europe on four occasions during his first stint with Everton and famously winning the Conference League with West Ham in 2022.
In his post-match interview, Moyes displayed admiration for Nuno’s men, saying: “Nottingham Forest at the moment are someone which we should all look to. If we could have a season like Nottingham Forest this year, next year, then I’d be hugely thrilled”.
Though Moyes was full of praise for Forest after the game on Saturday, he still believes the result was a fair one. Forest put on a lacklustre performance—a worrying trend they need to sort out before their next match against Spurs.
When asked about the challenges of a run-in for European places, the Scot recalled: “There’ll be games that you should win, but you’re going to have to win one of the big games. I think you have to find a way of picking up wins which maybe people are not expecting you to do.”
He finished with a vote of confidence backing Forest to get European football, but says “we’ll need to wait and see if they make it over the line for Champions League”
Stats present pretty picture for Nottingham Forest
Winning the big games has not been a problem for Forest this season.
Opta’s predictions for Champions League qualification gives Forest a 77.56% chance of qualifying—a possible source of reassurance for the team.
| LIVERPOOL | 100.00% |
| ARSENAL | 99.97% |
| MAN CITY | 84.34% |
| N. FOREST | 77.56% |
| NEWCASTLE | 74.72% |
| CHELSEA | 31.41% |
| ASTON VILLA | 28.32% |
| FULHAM | 2.76% |
As for the remainder of the run-in, Forest have a kinder schedule than most, not facing any teams in the top half until Chelsea on the final day.
If they can get out of this mini-blip and get back to the level they have shown all year, Forest fans may well be in dreamland come the final day of the season.