Nottingham Forest remain in the thick of the Premier League relegation fight after defeat to Leeds United
11:37, 08 Feb 2026
Ryan Yates reacts to Nottingham Forest's defeat to Leeds United
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Ryan Yates reacts to Nottingham Forest's defeat to Leeds United(Image: Getty)
Nottingham Forest have been warned their battle for Premier League survival is likely to go right down to the wire.
Defeat to Leeds United on Friday coupled with West Ham United picking up a win the following day has left the Reds just three points above the relegation zone. The 18th-placed Hammers have the chance to go level on points with Sean Dyche’s side when they host Manchester United on Tuesday.
Forest welcome bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers to the City Ground on Wednesday for a fixture which has suddenly taken on added importance. But pundit Danny Murphy reckons the scrap to stay up has a long way to go yet.
Wolves and Burnley appear to be cut adrift, but a clutch of other teams are currently battling to avoid dropping into the Championship. Just three points separate West Ham and the Reds, with tallies of 23 and 26 respectively, while Leeds United, Crystal Palace and Tottenham Hotspur are all on 29 points.
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Palace are away to Brighton and Hove Albion today (Sunday) and Murphy believes they could be in trouble. He told the BBC: "Palace have got a scrap on their hands as confidence is draining.
"I'm like the majority and think Tottenham will be OK even though the results don't say it. Their squad and the quality they've got will come good and they will get enough points.
"Leeds, for me, are the ones who will be safe given the way they have played in the last two or three months. They have some really nice momentum. And we all know about the Elland Road factor, which is huge.
"So, I think it's between Forest, Palace and West Ham. It is going to be so tight. I really think it’s going to go down to the wire."
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Forest were poor at Elland Road on Friday night as their four-match unbeaten run in the league came to an end. New signing Lorenzo Lucca bagged a consolation effort in a 3-1 defeat, but there was little by way of positives for the visitors to reflect on.
"Too many times recently, I've seen Nottingham Forest look passive," Murphy said. "Whether that's legginess from the amount of games in which Sean Dyche has had to play the same players. He gave fringe players the chance to stake their claim against Wrexham and they didn't take it, so he's had to pick the same eight or nine week in, week out.
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"I've done it myself and it's hard trying to play every few days and playing to your best, especially under pressure of relegation. Plus, they are trying to manage Europe as well."
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