Premier League: As Forest Dream, Spurs Dream of What Might Have Been

Tottenham Hotspur vs Nottingham Forest

If you had said at the start of the season that one of these clubs would be in fourth place in the Premier League and the other would be 15^th, I don’t believe any of you would have predicted it this way round.

And why would you.

After all, Spurs finished fifth last season and qualified for the Europa League, while Forest ended the campaign in 17th position and were not fully sure of their safety until the final week of the campaign (albeit they had a four points’ deduction imposed on them for a breach of financial fair play regulations).

The contrast 11 months on is staggering.

Talking Points

Indeed, this game acts as a timely reminder to Spurs owner Daniel Levy of what might have been had he not so ruthlessly sacked Nuno Espírito Santo after just three months in the ‘Lilywhites’ hot seat.

Securing the services of Antonio Conte to replace him, in November 2021, was an astute move that initially paid dividends but that relationship didn’t quite last 18 months so Levy can hardly say he got that decision right either.

The upshot is that Nuno’s Forest are dreaming of Champions League football in what would be the first time in Europe’s premier competition since the late Brian Clough.

Nottingham Forest earned a vital Premier League win against Tottenham, with Anthony Elanga scoring the winner — Nottingham Forest midfielder Anthony Elanga prepares to take a corner kick during the Premier League match against Manchester United at The City Ground.

Furthermore, Spurs are languishing in the bottom half of the Premier League and are set to be looking for yet another new manager this summer if reports that Ange Postecoglou will be moved on are correct.

That may be avoided if they can win the Europa League, which would seal a place in the money-spinning Champions League for themselves, and they are certainly big favourites to reach the final following a hard-fought success in Germany at Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday.

This SBOTOP writer said at the start of the season that Spurs have a squad capable of building on last season’s fifth-placed finish and, in their defence, they have been missing a lot of key players through injury at a crucial time.

That has meant few Premier League 2025 highlights to shout about, unlike Forest who are sitting pretty, even if successive defeats have left them looking over their shoulders a little.

Abdoulaye Doucoure’s 94th-minute winner for Everton at the City Ground last Saturday made it back-to-back defeats at the wrong time in the campaign as they aim to compete in Europe’s elite club competition for the first time in over 40 years.

To show how well they have done, the defeat was just their third at the City Ground all campaign and Doucoure’s late strike ended a run of 449 minutes without conceding at home.

And, assessing the bigger picture, this time last year they were just one point above the drop zone.

The visit to North London then is a time to rest against opponents who may well be added after their European exertions and a game in which maximum points will push them ever closer to the promised land.

History

A fixture which evokes memories for me of compelling clashes in league and cup in the 1980s and 90s.

Overall, Spurs have won 59 encounters but Forest have enjoyed 38 victories and there have also been 29 draws.

Interestingly, the very first meetings, both in Division One, came on Christmas Day and then, just two days later, December 27, in 1909 – and both ended 2-2.

The inaugural contest at White Hart Lane saw Percy Humphries score both for Spurs.

Arguably their most famous meeting came in the 1991 FA Cup Final which Spurs won 2-1, thanks to an extra-time own goal.

Spurs won this fixture 3-1 last season, just over a year ago, when Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro scored twice in six minutes early in the second half to clinch a 3-1 victory.

It meant Forest have failed to win at Tottenham Hotspur since March 1997 when Dean Saunders scored the only goal of the Premier League game at White Hart Lane.

Forest enjoyed a memorable victory over Spurs earlier this term though an Anthony Elanga goal.

Until 2022, these two sides had not met in the Premier League since April 1999 when Steffen Iversen scored the only goal of the game against soon to be relegated Forest.

Their very first clash in the Premier League era came in April 1993, also at the City Ground, when Kingsley Black and Robert Rosario scored in a 2-1 victory for the hosts.