Gary Neville drops fresh Nottingham Forest prediction ahead of crucial Arsenal and Man City clashes

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Nottingham Forest head into a crucial fortnight of Premier League action, facing Arsenal and Manchester City in their quest to maintain a Champions League position.

After Forest’s 4-3 defeat to Newcastle, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have now lost consecutive Premier League games for the first time since November.

Murillo’s display against Newcastle was hailed but the first-half collapse ended up sealing Forest’s fate despite second-half goals by Nikola Milenkovic and Ryan Yates.

One positive ahead of Wednesday’s clash with Arsenal is that Myles Lewis-Skelly is suspended for the trip to Forest, but it’s understandable if there is a nervous energy in the City Ground given how big an impact any slip-up can have in the Champions League race.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	27	19	7	1	64	26	38	64
2	ArsenalArsenal	26	15	8	3	51	23	28	53
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	26	14	5	7	44	33	11	47
4	Man CityManchester City	26	13	5	8	52	37	15	44
5	NewcastleNewcastle	26	13	5	8	46	36	10	44
6	B’mouthBournemouth	26	12	7	7	44	30	14	43

With just 12 games left to play, Gary Neville has been speaking about where he believes Forest fit into the equation as the Premier League is set for five Champions League positions.

Gary Neville on Nottingham Forest’s Champions League hopes

Neville predicted Espirito Santo’s counterattacking style would work at Forest and he’s been proven right as the efficient way of playing has seen the Reds into the position they find themselves in.

However, doubts are beginning to creep in about Forest with February’s less-than-perfect form, leading to Neville making a definitive prediction about whether the club has enough to maintain their charge for Europe’s elite competition.

Speaking on the Gary Neville Podcast, he said: “I think Nottingham Forest have been absolutely amazing, the story of the season, but they’ll find it hard to hang on [to the Champions League places].

“I hope they hang on but my feeling is it’ll be tough […], I think City, Villa, Newcastle, and Chelsea might just [qualify]. 12 games is a long way to go and I feel like it’ll be a long 12 games for Nottingham Forest.”

Whilst Chris Sutton expects Forest to finish fourth and hang on for Champions League qualification, Neville has evidently seen enough in the recent performances to suggest that the Forest squad will just miss out.

The Arsenal and Manchester City clashes will also be playing a part in the ex-Manchester United man’s thoughts. Still, Forest fans shouldn’t be too concerned given the number of different predictions Neville has made about the club this season.

Gary Neville has changed his Nottingham Forest prediction numerous times

It’s no secret that pundits have found predicting Espirito Santo’s side particularly difficult this season, highlighted when Gary Lineker thought Forest would be relegated.

Neville has also struggled to pin down what Forest are this season, with this current prediction his fourth of the campaign.

Firstly, Neville expected Forest to stay up this season due to the relative strength of the squad compared to the three promoted sides but after it became clear that Espirito Santo’s squad were capable of more, Neville predicted a top-half finish for Forest instead.

As momentum continued beyond the early months, Neville predicted a sixth-place finish for Forest in what seems to match a similar line of thought to his latest comments, but the number of times he has changed his mind makes it likely that if Forest beat Arsenal and City, he could yet change his prediction.

It’s becoming harder and harder to confidently predict the Reds’ fate as the season draws closer to its climax but if the Forest coaching staff can right the wrongs of previous weeks, the Champions League dream will edge closer to reality.