Manchester United has a place in next season’s UEFA Champions League regardless of how the final games go. The Red Devils sit third in the Premier League table, nine points behind Manchester City, six above Liverpool and Aston Villa, and 10 above Bournemouth. They are all but guaranteed to finish third, and they’ll be taking on a Nottingham Forest side that has nothing to play for.
One week ago, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side were riding a five-match winning streak, having not lost a single match since March 12. But Aston Villa would rain on their parade with a 4-0 beatdown in Birmingham to confirm their spot in the UEFA Europa League Final, where they will face Freiburg in Istanbul. Forest would bounce back, however, conceding in the 74th minute to Harvey Barnes, only to pull level in the 88th minute as Elliot Anderson levelled the scoring against his boyhood club. This, combined with the results of the other matches, would see Nottingham Forest and Leeds secure their top-flight status for next season.
Whilst West Ham and Tottenham Hotspur duke it out to avoid the final relegation spot, Forest are merely playing for pride at this moment, sitting five points above Spurs. Moreover, they also sit one behind Leeds and Crystal Palace, three behind Newcastle, five behind Sunderland and Fulham, and six behind Everton and Chelsea. Buoyed by the confirmation of safety, the Tricky Trees will be looking to continue their stellar run of form against Manchester United on Sunday, before hosting Bournemouth on the final day.
It wasn’t long ago that Manchester United had the upper hand, with Erik ten Hag’s side prevailing 3-0 in their first meeting in nearly 24 years. United then won 3-0 and 2-0 to confirm their presence in the 2022/23 EFL Cup Final, before prevailing 2-0 at City Ground. They then fell behind 2-0 within four minutes, only to pull out an improbable 3-2 comeback win courtesy of goals from Christian Eriksen, Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes. All signs pointed to United making it 11 wins in a row against Forest; instead, Forest would open the scoring via Nicolas Domínguez in their final match of 2023, with Marcus Rashford pulling level. However, Morgan Gibbs-White would restore the hosts’ lead, earning praise from A.J. DeLaGarza and securing Forest’s first win over United since 1994.
United would quickly settle the score as Casemiro’s 89th-minute goal saw them eke out a 1-0 victory en route to their FA Cup triumph, but Forest managed to bounce back in style, opening the scoring within two minutes via Nikola Milenković. Rasmus Højlund would equalize momentarily, but Gibbs-White and Chris Wood would restore the advantage after halftime, with Fernandes pulling one back but nevertheless failing to muster a point at Old Trafford. Rúben Amorim’s side would stumble in their next two meetings, with Anthony Elanga delivering the goods against his former side in a 1-0 victory. Their next match-up, meanwhile, would see Fernandes tee up Casemiro’s opener, only for Gibbs-White and Nicolò Savona to score after the break. However, Amad Diallo’s 81st-minute goal saw United come away from the City Ground with a point.
If United are to come away with their first league win against Forest since August 26, 2023, they’ll need Fernandes to lead by example once again. Having just been announced as the Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year, Fernandes will be liking his chances to take home the Premier League Player of the Season and the PFA Players’ Player of the Year as well. He’s all but confirmed to win the Coca-Cola Golden Playmaker award, which has been given to the Premier League player with the most assists since 2017/18. Fernandes has registered 19 assists, eight above Rayan Cherki, and it’s no surprise that the likes of Neil Cox have tipped him for success in this summer’s FIFA World Cup. But while he’s set to join Kevin De Bruyne, Mohamed Salah, Eden Hazard, Harry Kane and Ollie Watkins as the winners of the prestigious award, he’s still chasing a different kind of history.
Fernandes has already eclipsed David Beckham’s 26-year record for the most assists for a United player (15) in a Premier League season, but now, he is one assist away from tying Thierry Henry and De Bruyne for the most assists in a Premier League season. Having been kept under wraps in his last two matches, can Fernandes get back to the assist sheet vs. Forest and put an end to United’s worrying run of form against the Tricky Trees?
