Overview
Bournemouth is experiencing the most memorable season in the club's modern history when they officially won a ticket to the European Cup for the first time in 127 years of existence.
The historic ticket was guaranteed by coach Andoni Iraola and his team after the emotional 1-1 draw against Manchester City in the middle of the week. Bournemouth seemed to have secured the victory until Erling Haaland scored the equalizer in the 90+5 minute. However, one point was still enough to help Bournemouth continue to write the fairy tale of the season.
Before the final round, the Vitality Stadium team is ranked sixth in the standings and is only 3 points behind Liverpool. Not only that, Bournemouth even still has a chance to win a Champions League spot if the results in the final round are favorable. Sixth place could become a Champions League spot if Liverpool defeats Brentford and Aston Villa drops to fifth place after losing to Man City.
Whether ending in the Champions League or Europa League, this is still a feat beyond expectations for Bournemouth - a team that was once considered a relegation candidate before the season.
Iraola's team currently has a 17-match unbeaten streak in the Premier League, the longest achievement in club history. In the top five European leagues at the moment, only Bayern Munich has a longer unbeaten streak than Bournemouth.
The last time Bournemouth lost was from January 3, when they lost to Arsenal 2-3. The Cherries' away form is also very impressive. They have won three of their last four away games at City Ground and are aiming for a double victory against Nottingham Forest after winning 2-0 in the first leg in October last year.
In the opposite direction, Nottingham Forest just ended their 8-match unbeaten streak after a 2-3 defeat to Man United last week. That match was also controversial when Man United's decisive goal was determined to be invalid due to Bryan Mbeumo's handball. However, Forest had previously completed their relegation goal and is currently ranked 16th with a safe 7-point gap from the relegation group.
Coach Vitor Pereira is receiving much trust after helping Forest play brightly since replacing Sean Dyche in February. Under the Portuguese strategist, Forest has won 16 points after 11 Premier League matches.
The biggest positive point is that Forest's attack is playing significantly more effectively. This team has scored 19 goals in the last 7 matches - more than the total number of goals they scored in the previous 19 matches from November to March.
However, head-to-head history is not entirely on Forest's side. They have never beaten Bournemouth after seven Premier League encounters, three draws and four losses. Forest also does not have a good record in the final round of the season when they only won one of the last 6 matches in the Premier League.
Expected lineup:
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Williams, Milenkovic, Morato, Netz, Bakwa, Yates, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Jesus, Awoniyi.
Bournemouth: Petrovic, Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert, Adams, Scott, Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier, Evanilson.
The match between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth takes place at 10:00 p.m. on May 24 (Vietnam time).
