Nottingham Forest warned as Chris Sutton makes interesting prediction ahead of West Ham clash

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Nottingham Forest need a win against West Ham to make sure that the Champions League race goes to the final day, and Chris Sutton has given his prediction.

The task was made harder as Forest drew with Leicester City last Sunday, dropping the Reds down to seventh and outside the Champions League places.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
4	Man CityManchester City	36	19	8	9	67	43	24	65
5	ChelseaChelsea	36	18	9	9	62	43	19	63
6	Aston VillaAston Villa	36	18	9	9	56	49	7	63
7	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	36	18	8	10	56	44	12	62
8	BrentfordBrentford	36	16	7	13	63	53	10	55
9	BrightonBrighton	36	14	13	9	59	56	3	55

Of course, the buildup has been dominated by Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury, making Nuno Espirito Santo’s job particularly difficult to focus his side away from the concern for their teammate.

With the discrepancies in UEFA prize money between the Champions League and the Europa League, Forest will be hoping to keep in the race, but Chris Sutton has given a warning to the Reds.

Chris Sutton predicts Nottingham Forest vs West Ham

Graham Potter hailed Forest’s attack as the Hammers boss is aware of his opponent’s strengths, with the onus on Espirito Santo’s side to take the game to West Ham on Sunday.

However, Sutton doesn’t seem particularly convinced that the Reds can manage this in his prediction for the game for BBC Sport.

Sutton said: “I thought that game [vs Leicester] was a must-win for Forest’s Champions League hopes, and if they drop more points here they could drop out of contention completely. I’ve heard some people say that Forest have bottled it, but I don’t agree. They have just run out of steam.

“Forest’s aim now is to get to next weekend and still be in touch before they host Chelsea in their final game of the season, but whether that happens or not relies on which West Ham team turns up. […] I know who I want to win, but for different reasons, it is hard to back either side here.”

Eventually predicting a 1-1 draw at the London Stadium, it’s clear that the recent weeks’ nervous performances have seen pundits lose confidence in the Forest squad, something Espirito Santo will need to address.

What Nuno Espirito Santo is demanding from his Forest squad

Espirito Santo has been nominated for the Premier League Manager of the Season award, something that will be hard to deny him if he can rally the players back into the Champions League race.

On this challenge, the Forest manager said: “The mindset is simple. It’s our last opportunity to try and fight for Champions League, it’s as clear as that. We are talking about something that is so huge for us that everyone in the club has to give that extra effort to achieve it.

“We, as a group of professionals, are focused, we are determined, and we are preparing ourselves hard, training hard, assessing the players and finding solutions.”

Three points on Sunday will take the Champions League push to the final day at the City Ground, so Forest fans will be praying that this mentality has seeped through into the squad.