Premier League | Gameweek 37

May 18, 2025 at 2.15pm UK

London Stadium

West Ham vs Nott'm Forest

Match preview

In the latest chapter of Manchester United's domestic decline, West Ham ended an eight-game winless run at Old Trafford last weekend. The Europa League finalists were haunted by a former player.

Former Red Devils right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka played a crucial role in both of the Hammers' goals that afternoon. Tomas Soucek opened the scoring with a delicate flick before Wan-Bissaka set up Jarrod Bowen to secure West Ham's 10th Premier League win of the season.

Graham Potter's team had previously experienced a pattern of alternating losses and draws for over two months before capitalising on Manchester United's continental fatigue. The Irons have now overtaken both Ruben Amorim's team and Tottenham Hotspur in the lower reaches of the Premier League table.

Thirteenth place is still within reach for West Ham, although it won't make much difference in the grand scheme of things. The 2022–23 Conference League champions will be glad to see the back of what has been a tumultuous and taxing campaign.

Firstly, though, West Ham will attempt to secure back-to-back Premier League victories for only the second time this season — having previously achieved this feat against Arsenal and Leicester City in February — and they have not lost their final home match of the season since 2016-17.

While Sunday's hosts will not be playing in Europe next season, Nuno Espirito Santo's Nottingham Forest will be competing in continental football, although the clash with Leicester that sealed a top-seven finish was not a day for celebration.

Instead, Garibaldi's fleeting Champions League hopes suffered another major setback in a four-goal stalemate with the relegated Foxes. The contest was also overshadowed by owner Evangelos Marinakis storming the pitch to have a heated conversation with the first-team manager.

It subsequently emerged that Marinakis was questioning why injured striker Taiwo Awoniyi was allowed to continue playing after colliding with the goalpost late in the game. This incident left Awoniyi with a ruptured intestine, which could have been life-threatening, but he has thankfully now woken from an induced coma.

While the news on that front is good, it is not so good on the footballing front: Santo's men have failed to win any of their last four matches, have won just once in their last seven contests in all competitions, and are now outsiders for a top-five placement.

Recent history, however, makes for pleasant reading for the Reds' supporters, as their team have beaten West Ham 5–0 on aggregate in their last two Premier League games and could now achieve their first double over the Irons in 41 years.

Recent Performance

West Ham United Premier League form:DLDLDW

Nottingham Forest Premier League form:LLWLDD

Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):LWLLDD

Team News

Following their win over Manchester United, West Ham should be working with an identical squad for their next match, meaning only Michail Antonio (leg) and Crysencio Summerville (thigh) will be missing.

As well as sealing the Irons' victory last weekend, captain Bowen has scored in each of West Ham's last three home games. The last West Ham player to score in four consecutive Premier League home games was Jesse Lingard in 2021.

Bowen is expected to lead a largely unchanged lineup for the hosts, although it would not be surprising to see Lucas Paquetá return to the midfield over Guido Rodríguez.

As for Nottingham Forest, Awoniyi is making good progress in his recovery from a worrying abdominal injury, but the 27-year-old will certainly not play again this season and there is no timeframe for his return.

As expected, Santo's press conference was dominated by talk of Awoniyi and Champions League qualification. There were no updates on Murillo or Callum Hudson-Odoi (both thigh), but the former should have a better chance of playing.

Chris Wood, one of eight nominees for the Premier League Player of the Year prize, has scored eight Premier League goals against West Ham in the past — his best record against a single team in the competition.

Possible starting lineup

West Ham United possible starting lineup:

Areola; Cresswell, Kilman, Todibo; Coufal, Soucek, Ward-Prowse, Wan-Bissaka; Paqueta; Bowen, Kudus

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Yates, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Dominguez; Wood