Nottingham vs Leicester City

Aiming to secure a historic Champions League spot for the first time in decades, Nottingham Forest host relegated Leicester City at the City Ground for a Premier League showdown on Sunday afternoon.

The Tricky Trees earned a draw at Crystal Palace’s home earlier this week, while the Foxes celebrated a rare Premier League victory at the King Power Stadium in their most recent outing.

Having spent the past two seasons narrowly avoiding relegation to the Championship, Nottingham Forest, twice crowned European champions, have set their sights on loftier goals in the 2024-25 season, positioning themselves as contenders for a Champions League league-phase berth.

At one point sitting second in the Premier League table, Forest have faltered lately, dropping points frequently. Their latest setback came on Monday night at Selhurst Park, where they played out a draw with Crystal Palace.

After a scoreless first half, Eberechi Eze’s cool penalty gave Palace the lead, but Forest struck back through Murillo, who scored his second league goal of the season to salvage a point.

With only one victory in their last five Premier League matches as they chase a top-four finish, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side has slipped to sixth place, trailing Newcastle United and Chelsea, in fourth and fifth, by two points.

Despite recent home defeats to Everton (0-1) and Brentford (0-2) at the City Ground, Forest have been defensively robust on home turf this season, conceding just 13 goals in 17 matches, tying with Liverpool for the league’s best home defensive record.

Leicester, meanwhile, ended an 11-match winless streak in the Premier League, dating back to January, with a spirited display against struggling Southampton at the King Power Stadium last Saturday.

Veteran striker Jamie Vardy, aged 38, opened the scoring with his eighth league goal of the season, and Jordan Ayew added a second, as the Foxes secured their first clean sheet since October.

Despite claiming just their fifth win in 35 Premier League games, Leicester remain anchored in 19th place with 21 points, a daunting 16 points behind 17th-placed West Ham United, with only nine points still up for grabs.

The Foxes have been dismal on the road, managing just one point during a six-game winless streak in away matches, their last victory on the road coming on January 26, when Vardy and Bilal El Khannous scored in a shock win against Tottenham Hotspur, Europa League finalists.

Appointed in December to replace the sacked Steve Cooper, Ruud van Nistelrooy, a Manchester United legend, faces an uncertain future at Leicester after securing only four wins in 24 matches, with the club reportedly exploring managerial options for their upcoming Championship campaign.