West Ham manager Graham Potter pins Nottingham Forest’s success on two players

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Nottingham Forest travel to West Ham on Sunday knowing that, realistically, a win is required to keep their Champions League hopes alive.

Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury has naturally dominated the headlines since last weekend, but Sunday’s draw with Leicester City was a damaging one in the hunt for Champions League football.

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

Down in seventh, Nuno Espirito Santo will know that a win down in London will guarantee that Forest have a chance of qualification going into the last day against Chelsea.

The Forest squad showed stronger goalscoring potential against Leicester, and Hammers boss Graham Potter has picked out two of the attacking stars as driving factors in the Reds’ season.

• READ MORE: How to watch West Ham vs Nottingham Forest: TV channel, kick-off time, team and injury news

Graham Potter singles out Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood

Alongside Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White is up for the Player of the Season award in the Premier League, as the club’s central pair continue to garner attention.

Potter is certainly aware of their talents ahead of Sunday, taking time in his pre-match press conference to discuss the pair’s impact, as well as Forest’s remarkable season overall.

He said: “They’ve [Forest] had a fantastic season. This time last year, they were probably at the opposite end of the table, so it’s credit to everyone involved. They’ve recruited well and they’re very clear on what they want to do.

“They have high-quality individuals, such as Chris Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White, and you can see why they’ve got the points they have.”

Gibbs-White was excellent against West Ham back in November, and Wood scored as well, but one other Forest star was the man of the match that day, and Potter may not even have to worry about him.

Callum Hudson-Odoi was the star against West Ham in November

Forest fans praised Nicolas Dominguez in the 3-0 win over the Hammers, too, but the stats showed that Callum Hudson-Odoi stole the show at the City Ground.

In what was a complete performance across the board, Hudson-Odoi stood out. He scored Forest’s second goal, but it was his creativity that stood out, creating four opportunities for his teammates, the most in the game.

He also helped Forest register 53% possession with his brilliant pass accuracy in a show of control with the ball that hasn’t been the usual approach this season.

Hudson-Odoi remains out injured and therefore unlikely to feature on Sunday, much to the delight of Potter, given how he performed before the current Hammers boss took on the job.