Nottingham Forest opened up their Premier League account with an impressive 3-1 win against Brentford at the City Ground.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side blew the Bees away in the first half, as they raced into a three-goal lead through two Chris Wood strikes and a Dan Ndoye header.
The visitors struck back in the second half, but Nottingham Forest maintained total control and never really looked threatened.
Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher made their Premier League predictions on Monday Night Football yesterday, and the former had Forest in a very exciting position.
Gary Neville.
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Gary Neville makes Nottingham Forest Premier League prediction
Neville has predicted Forest to be surprise European challengers this season, noting that Espirito Santo’s system will win them a lot of games
“For Forest to repeat what they did last year, it’d be a massive result for them, that was a massive overreach and overperformance last year,” Neville explained.
“They were punching well above their weight, so for me for Forest to go in again would be a big surprise, but I actually think they’ve got a lot of very good players there and a good system of play, it’s an efficient system of play that can win a lot of football matches.
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“I really like Nottingham Forest… let me back in.”
Nottingham Forest have a kind run of fixtures
Forest can really build some momentum to start this season as they have a relatively kind start on paper, with Crystal Palace up next.
A home clash against West Ham United follows before Arsenal, Burnley and Sunderland, so if they’re to realise their European aspirations, they should be aiming for four wins from their first six.
Palace could be without star player Eberechi Eze on Sunday, too, so it’s a pretty good time to play them, if indeed they don’t find a replacement swiftly.
It’s imperative to get off to a good start before their Europa League campaign gets underway, as that’s when the squad will really be stretched.
Certainly exciting times ahead for the Tricky Trees.