There still appears to be some snobbery going around when it comes to the season that Nottingham Forest are having.
The team in third place in the Premier League table are now in the FA Cup semi-finals – yet seemingly nobody outside of Nottingham believes the team can win the competition.
Forest have drawn Manchester City in the last four, and although they’ve been unstoppable in recent times, they’ve looked far from invincible during 2024/25.
If you look at the odds, Forest are the fourth favourites for the competition with the other semi-final seeing Aston Villa take on Crystal Palace.
The Reds won’t be too fazed by that and, perhaps crucially, there are four Premier League matches to play before Forest can even turn their attention to Wembley.
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Photo by Crystal Pix/MB Media/Getty Images
Michael Brown and Nigel Reo-Coker disagree over Nottingham Forest
The draw throws up an intriguing tie between City and Forest, with the Reds taking all three points in their meeting last month.
However, City heading to Wembley to play in the FA Cup semi-final has been as regular as Christmas for several years now, and they will feel at home under the arch.
A conversation on Football Daily saw Forest-supporting anchor Darren Fletcher argue the toss with Michael Brown and Nigel Reo-Coker over the draw and the favourites for the competition.
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The discussion went as follows:
Fletcher: “I think there is a Grand National feel to it, I’m amazed you think that City, are…”
Brown: “Amazed? You’re not amazed, come on!”
Fletcher: “I’m amazed that you think that they’re significantly better than the others.
Brown: “City are the favourites. Well, let’s see what the bookies say. I bet you City are the favourites. I see your point and full credit to what Palace and Forest are doing. Villa have got the strongest squad thereafter but City are still at Wembley Stadium more favourites than those other three. That’s a given.
Reo-Coker: “Browny, it’s the FA Cup.”
Brown: “I get it.”
Reo-Coker: “I’m sticking to my view with that where I think this last four there, any club can win it. I don’t believe that there is one dominant over the other because I’ve seen Villa have off days.”
Brown: “If you’re Forest, Darren, who did you want in the draw? Are you saying you didn’t mind any of them?”
Fletcher: “I don’t think the three clubs…”
Brown: “I’m telling you now, those Forest players, the one team they didn’t want out of them was Manchester City.”
Reo-Coker: “Browny, I tell you this now, I disagree with you. I think Forest would be fine to have Manchester City with the season they’ve had, how they’ve played City before, they know who they are. Man City are going through a different time, they’ve lost that aura of invincibility and Forest will go into that game full of confidence that they can still get a result against Manchester City.”
Forest can beat Manchester City at Wembley
The Reds have got the toughest draw possible, with Brown getting that bit absolutely spot on.
However, the City of 2024/25 are not the same City as the previous few years and there is definitely hope that Forest can cause a shock.
The beauty of the draw is that Forest are exactly in the position they’ve been in all season, with everyone writing the team off and giving them no chance of a victory.
It’s only a little under a month since Forest turned City over and with over 30,000 Reds supporters cheering on the team, anything could happen.
The Reds are two games away from silverware and nine games away from the Champions League and hopefully the team can continue riding the crest of a wave in the coming weeks.