For the first time in 26 years, Nottingham Forest sit 3rd in the Premier League table after beating 10-man West Ham 3-0 at a celebratory City Ground on Saturday.
WATCH NOTTINGHAM FOREST vs WEST HAM FULL MATCH REPLAY
Chris Wood headed home his 8th goal of the season (2nd-most, three behind Erling Haaland) in the 27th minute, at which point West Ham hadn’t yet attempted a shot in the game. Callum Hudson-Odoi made it 2-0 in the 65th (now 2 shots for West Ham) and Ola Aina finished the job with goal no. 3 in the 78th (up to four shots, though they wouldn’t have any more after that).
A difficult start to the season got more difficult right before halftime, as Edson Alvarez received his second yellow card in six minutes for a sliding challenge to stop a wide-open counter-attack. Not that West Ham had many bright ideas about coming back before his dismissal.
Another brilliant defensive display carries Forest to easy win
- Shots: 19-4
- On target: 6-2
- xG: 2.08-0.16
That counts as a good, old-fashioned whopping on the stat sheet, but it looked even more lopsided as it played out in real time. Nuno’s teams have always defended well (or at least tried to, which is more than can be said for some sides — ahem, Hammers), but never this well. Only Liverpool (6) have conceded fewer goals than Forest (7) through 10 games, which is truly a spectacular feat after finishing bottom-6 in the league with 67 goals conceded last season. We’ll wait another month or two before having the “Are they really Champions League contenders?” conversation, but after finishing 16th and 17th in their first team seasons back in the Premier League, coasting to safety before Christmas is perhaps the best give a football club can give its fans.
Player ratings - Nottingham Forest vs West Ham
Nottingham Forest vs West Ham updates - by Andy Edwards
Nottingham Forest vs West Ham final score: 3-0
Goalscorers: Chris Wood (27'), Callum Hudson-Odoi (65'), Ola Aina (78')
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 3-0 West Ham: Ola Aina joins the party and piles on
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 2-0 West Ham: Callum Hudson-Odoi curls a beauty off a free-kick routine
RED CARD! Edson Alvarez shown 2nd yellow card in a few minutes just before halftime (45'+1)
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 West Ham: Chris Wood heads home Alex Moreno’ cross (27')
Nottingham Forest starting lineup
Sels - Aubam Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno - Dominguez, Yates, Gibbs-White - Elanga, Hudson-Odoi, Wood
West Ham starting lineup
Fabianski - Todibo, Mavropanos, Kilman - Wan-Bissaka, Alvarez, Rodriguez, Emerson - Paqueta, Summerville, Bowen
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs West Ham live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 11am ET Saturday (November 2)
Venue: City Ground — Nottinghamshire
TV Channel: Peacock
Streaming: Watch live on Peacock
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
OUT: Danilo (ankle), Ibrahim Sangare (undisclosed), James Ward-Prowse (loan - unable to face parent club) | QUESTIONABLE: Morgan Gibbs-White (ankle), Chris Wood (other), Jota Silva (knock), Elliot Anderson (foot)
West Ham team news, focus
OUT: Niclas Fullkrug (calf), Mohammed Kudus (suspension)
Nottingham Forest vs West Ham prediction
This is a great litmus test for Forest, as West Ham will join them in trying to make the game ugly with few scoring chances. Based on goal-scoring form alone, advantage Forest and Chris Wood. Nottingham Forest 1-0 West Ham.
