Overview
Faced with the risk of suffering two consecutive humiliating defeats against old teams, former head coach of Wolves and Forest, Nuno Espirito Santo, could very well be sacked after the next match if the relegation battle continues to be as bad as the away match to Molineux.
Facing a Wolves who have only won 3 points since the beginning of the season, the reigning Conference League champion still showed a lackluster face. Santo can only admit that it was a shameful performance after his team was crushed 3-0 by the "Wolfs".
Amidst rumors that former West Ham head coach Slaven Bilic may return to the London stadium, Santo is trying to keep his seat. However, statistics sound the alarm for the Portuguese coach.
The home team, which is ranked 18th, will still be in the relegation zone regardless of the results this week. They have gone through 9 unbeaten Premier League matches since defeating Burnley in November, and lost 4 of their last 5 matches.
More worryingly, no coach in the league has a clean sheet streak longer than Santo (26 matches). Irons have also not had a clean sheet at home in the Premier League this season, having conceded 23 goals.
Forest's situation may not be as tragic, but after a period when Sean Dyche seemed to have stabilized City Ground, the Garibaldi team plunged down again. They lost 4 consecutive matches in a festive period full of anxiety.
The away team closed 2025 with three consecutive defeats against Fulham, Manchester City and Everton. As predicted, Unai Emery's Aston Villa continued to show off their class at the Villa Park "fortune" in the recent match.
Ollie Watkins' hammer-like shot and John McGinn's double helped Villa convincingly win 3-1 against Nottingham, even though Dyche's team has not yet fallen to the bottom of the group after round 21.
However, Nottingham Forest has now gone through the longest series of defeats this season and is at risk of suffering four consecutive away defeats. Notably, they have been goalless in all 5 away matches in the Premier League 2025-2026.
Back in August, when Santo was still in office, Forest suffered a humiliating 0-3 defeat at home to West Ham. However, before that, they had won three consecutive encounters with this opponent, including a 2-1 victory at the London stadium in May.
Personnel situation
West Ham left Molineux with a tired and hurt mood, but at least they did not have any more injuries. New striker Pablo Felipe was also on the bench after joining Gil Vicente.
Taty Castellanos is likely to make his debut in this match. However, both Lucas Paqueta (back pain) and Jean-Clair Todibo (hugging pain) were absent from the previous match and still need to be closely monitored. Meanwhile, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka continue to be on duty at the African Cup.
On the Forest side, the afternoon at Villa Park became a nightmare for new number one goalkeeper John Victor. The Brazilian goalkeeper burst into tears and left the field due to suspicion of calf injury, after a mistake leading to the second goal conceded by John McGinn. However, Sean Dyche has not yet confirmed the seriousness of the problem.
Matz Sels is likely to regain a starting spot in the upcoming match. Callum Hudson-Odoi (light injury) and Dan Ndoye (buttock injury) are still uncertain.
Expected lineup:
West Ham: Areola, Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Julio, Scarles, Soucek, Potts, Bowen, Fernandes, Summerville, Wilson.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Anderson, Dominguez, Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Jesus.
The match between West Ham and Nottingham Forest takes place at 3:00 AM on January 7 (Vietnam time).
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