Pundits Paul Merson and Michael Dawson have both predicted Nottingham Forest will miss out on a top-four Premier League finish this season.
The Reds are third in the table and have been in the Champions League places for more than nine weeks now. They bounced back from successive defeats on Wednesday night with a 0-0 draw at home to Arsenal.
After a break for the fifth round of the FA Cup, next up in the league for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side is a visit from Manchester City next Saturday (12.30pm kick-off). But with just six points separating Forest from 10th-placed Aston Villa, the battle for Europe is likely to be full of twists and turns in the final weeks of the campaign.
Discussing the race for the top four on Sky Sports, Merson said: “There’s a lot of teams in there. I still think Fulham are in there and Aston Villa; they’ve just got to get a run together.
“Chelsea were seventh in midweek. They beat Southampton and Forest failed to beat Arsenal. They (Forest) have got Man City next week and Chelsea have got Leicester at home. They (Chelsea) beat them and they (Forest) fail to win, then Chelsea are above them with 10 games to go. But then Chelsea’s games get difficult.
“I think there will be a shock. I don’t think it will be plain sailing.”
Asked who will provide the shock, Merson added: “If I’d have sat here last Saturday, I would have said Bournemouth 100 percent. Wolves at home and Brighton away, I fancied them to get at least four points from those two games. They’ve got some nice fixtures coming up.
“Then they go and get no points out of those two games. It changes. I would probably say Newcastle would probably take Forest’s position at the moment. At the moment.”
Weighing into the debate, former Forest defender Dawson argued it will be hard for Nuno’s players to continue performing at such a high level right through to May. But he made the point that even if securing Champions League football is a step too far, any kind of European football would still represent an incredible season after successive relegation fights.
Asked if the Reds will finish in the top four, Dawson said: “I’d love to say yes, but I’m worried. I knew this was a big week for them with the games they had – Newcastle, Arsenal and then Man City. Three teams who beat them earlier on in the season.
“The way they play, to keep playing to that level is hard. You’ve got to remember where they were in the previous two seasons, fighting against relegation. Even to be talked about and be in the equation to be challenging for Champions League football is remarkable.
“But when your players are playing to the maximum of their level for this long and you just fall off, with the amount of teams who are coming with a late run I think it is going to be a real challenge. If they can get any kind of Europe it would be remarkable. My outside team is Brighton.”
Paul Merson and Michael Dawson agree on Nottingham Forest’s Champions League chances as run-in looms
