Troy Deeney names Nottingham Forest star in Team of the Week but it’s not Matz Sels

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Nottingham Forest were well-beaten by Fulham on Saturday and were it not for the brilliance of goalkeeper Matz Sels it could have been another messy afternoon for the Reds.

Forest defeated Brighton 7-0 in the last Premier League fixture but after a tough slog in midweek against Exeter, the travelling and the 120 minutes on a boggy pitch really made an impact on the Reds.

Anthony Elanga racked up his 100th Premier League game against Fulham. In truth, that was about all that was worth shouting for from a Forest perspective as the Reds came up against a really organised Cottagers outfit.

Sels kept the score respectable. He made no fewer than six saves during the contest and the Belgian picked up where he left off after saving a penalty to take Forest through to round five of the FA Cup in midweek.

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Troy Deeney names Chris Wood in Premier League Team of the Week

Another small positive – not that he will view it as one – was Wood bagging his 18th goal of the Premier League campaign and keeping himself in contention to win the Golden Boot this season.

The Forest talisman placed an unstoppable effort beyond Bernd Leno with his left foot to give the Reds a bit of a foothold in the game after being dominated for pretty much the entire first half.

It’s rare that players who finish on the losing side make the Team of the Week but that’s what Deeney has decided to do with Wood, praising his finish against Fulham at the weekend.

He told BBC Sport: “Big Chris Wood just continues to score. He even scores goals these days when he has no right to score.”

Race for the Premier League Golden Boot 2024/25

It’s quite something that Wood is in the mix to win such a big accolade with just 13 games of the season to go. Alongside Mohamed Salah and Erling Haaland, the Forest man is the nearest man to the world-class duo.

Wood has really taken his game to another level this season. Very few anticipated that he’d match the 14 goals he scored in the Premier League last season but he’s blown that total out of the water.

Alan Shearer has hailed Wood this season. If there’s one thing the BBC pundit knows about, it’s scoring goals and Forest appear very lucky to have a striker who is enjoying his football and in the form of his life.

Winning the Golden Boot won’t be easy for Wood. However, if he can finish third or second in this race that would still represent a large achievement for a player who won’t have been fancied to be anywhere close before a ball was kicked this season.