In EPL, Santo gets Forest out of the woods

Nottingham Forest have begun 2025 in contention for a Champions League spot.

- Dhiman Sarkar

One year ago, that seemed as likely as Manchester City's meltdown. Halfway through the Premier League season, Forest have accrued five points more than they did in all of 2023-24. And they are the only team to have defeated league leaders Liverpool.

Sunday's 2-0 win at Everton was their eighth clean sheet, the most in the Premier League till December 31 this season. It was also their fifth win on the bounce. The last time that happened, in 1994-95, Forest sealed a berth in Europe. The last time they were this high in the standings, Forest finished third.

Of course, things can unspool from here. West Ham and Southampton have ended seasons in 12th place after being in the top four at Christmas. And who better than Forest to know all about burning brightly but all too briefly. Explains why even after Opta's league prediction model calculated that Forest have a 21.5% chance of finishing fifth, which could be enough for a Champions League slot should English clubs go deep this time, head coach Nuno Espirito Santo is not looking that far ahead.

"The table doesn't mean anything," the Portuguese said after Forest beat Tottenham Hotspur.

"We haven't achieved anything." But in that post-match conversation, Santo also spoke of belief in the squad.