Nottingham Forest have proven to be one of the real surprise packages of this season’s Premier League campaign.
After a season of being threatened by potential relegation, Forest have came out of the blocks firing this time around under Nuno Espirito Santo.
After nine games in the Premier League, the Reds find themselves up in seventh spot on 16 points with a three point cushion on Tottenham Hotspur.
Julen Lopetegui has admitted Forest look better than Manchester United ahead of West Ham’s trip to the City Ground on Saturday.
And that just goes to show how much progress has been made by the Reds following what was another busy summer transfer window.
Peter Crouch shares Nottingham Forest prediction
The Reds have incredibly only lost one game all season and Alan Shearer expects Forest to beat West Ham on Saturday afternoon.
And Peter Crouch fully believes that Nuno could lead the Reds on to a European finish this season after a stunning start.
“There’s a lot of unsettled teams in the top half of the league,” said Crouch.
“Tottenham, at times, they’re brilliant and at times poor – inconsistency. Manchester United, as we know, there’s a lot of inconsistency at the top end of the league. So yeah, could they [Forest] get into Europe? I don’t see why not.
“Could they get into the top six? Top eight?”
“A top half finish for Forest this season would be unbelievable but the way they’re going they could be in line for Europe,” added Steve Sidwell.
Depending on results elsewhere, three points for Forest could potentially have them sitting up in third spot of the Premier League.
Nuno Espirito Santo wants a strong bond at Forest
The Reds enjoyed a solid summer over in their Spain camp during pre-season which acted as a good opportunity for their new signings to settle into the group.
A strong bond has been formed between these players and that can be seen with Morgan Gibbs-White hailing Murillo’s Brazil call-up over recent hours.
It is just little moments like this that show how well Nuno has been able to pull these players together after what was a tricky 2023/24 campaign.
And he has recently touched on this during his latest press conference where he discuss the importance of togetherness within the club.
“I just try to provide the right environment for them to build it. Being together is the best thing,” he said.
“The more time they spend together, it creates bonds on and off the pitch. We work with each other for the same purpose.”
Receive a digest of our best Nottingham Forest content each week direct to your mailbox
