Title-winning Leicester captain Wes Morgan believes the Premier League’s elite sides should underestimate Nottingham Forest at their peril.
A win for Forest at home to Liverpool tonight would move them within three points of the league leaders after 21 games played in an impressive season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are unlikely to climb the table, he has likened them to East Midlands rivals Leicester, who superbly conquered the Premier League despite odds of 5000-1 at the start of the season.
And Morgan, the defender who lifted that title in 2015-16 and also represented Forest earlier in his career, believes staying under the radar alongside the big players will play right into the hands of the Reds.
“It’s probably quite similar to Forest and Leicester there. No one expects you to keep that momentum going at the top. So they don’t take you seriously,” said Morgan, who is now back at the City Ground as a national scout for the emerging talent recruitment team.
“You go under the radar a little bit, which is great for the players because they don’t have that pressure.”
“You can do your job without that expectation. Everybody wants that title, that title: Can you win the championship? Can you do this?
“They perform better when they don’t have that pressure. when that expectation is much less.
“That way you achieve more and you can just be free in your game and what you want to do.”
Forest are currently third, behind Arsenal on goal difference and four points ahead of fourth-placed Chelsea.
They have won their last seven games, an impressive run that includes six straight wins in the Premier League ahead of tonight’s clash with the leaders.
COYR. pic.twitter.com/1nby1ZXrZQ
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) January 14, 2025
Can Forest do Leicester?
If Forest fans aren’t already dreaming of winning the title, a win against Liverpool might just make them start believing.
The 1979 and 1980 European Cup winners have 40 points after 20 games this season, the same as the Foxes had when they improbably clinched the title.
Forest’s staunch defending and devastating counter-attacking style are both hallmarks of Jamie Vardy, Rihad Mahrez and Co in 2015-16, but a key difference may be the opposition both sides have faced.
In 2015-16, Claudio Ranieri’s men led early in the season, with Arsenal and Tottenham their biggest rivals during a poor year for the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Manchester United.
Liverpool have yet to show too many cracks to suggest they will fall any time soon this time around, which could spell bad news for the Reds.
That said, the team that handed Arne Slot his only Premier League defeat so far? Forest at Anfield in September.
2025-01-14 16:13:00
