West Ham v Nottingham Forest – Preview
Deja vu at London Stadium. Another must-win for West Ham United, coming hot on the heels of the last must-win… which ended in a 3–0 defeat away at Wolves.
This time it’s Nottingham Forest back in the frame, another former club of Nuno Espírito Santo which makes the whole Groundhog day feel continue.
Nuno is expected to make multiple changes to the team if this mornings matchday reports are anything to go by.
West Ham sit 18th, four points behind Nottingham Forest in 17th. Forest themselves arrive off the back of four straight defeats, which tells you everything about the level of this relegation scrap. In essence, Forest are just slightly less crap than West Ham which is why the hammers are still mathematically in the mix.
Back at Home, Back Under Pressure
The London Stadium lights are on for West Ham’s first home game of 2026, and it already feels huge. Lose this and the gap to safety starts looking uncomfortable. Win it, and suddenly the table doesn’t look quite so bleak.
Nuno and his squad have been back on the training pitches at Rush Green knowing full well what’s at stake. A response isn’t just wanted — it’s required. Nuno has asked for ‘bravery’ whatever that means and it’s clear he believes his newbies will give him precisely that.
Forest, meanwhile, will still remember the 3–0 hiding West Ham handed them at the City Ground earlier in the season. They’ll want revenge even though it was Nuno who was on the receiving end. . . it’s all very odd.
Taty in training: Castellanos has trained with his new teammates
Team News – Who’s In, Who’s Still Missing
There is some good news for West Ham.
Jean-Clair Todibo and Lucas Paquetá are both back in contention, while Nuno now has two new striking options to call upon in Taty Castellanos and Pablo Felipe.
The bad news? Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf remain away at AFCON with DR Congo and Senegal.
Forest have AFCON absentees of their own in Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangaré, while injuries rule out Chris Wood and Ryan Yates. Dan Ndoye, Callum Hudson-Odoi and John Victor are all doubts.
A Familiar Forest Circus
Forest’s season has unravelled at pace. Sean Dyche is now in charge after Nuno’s departure, following the latest falling-out with owner Evangelos Marinakis. Ange Postecoglou tried. Failed. Dyche is the next man through the door — and probably won’t be the last.
This is a club that spent chunks of last season flirting with the top four. Now they’re scrapping alongside West Ham at the wrong end of the table. If their fans are confused, they’re not alone.
Predicted West Ham XI (Nuno’s Pick, Not Mine)
Let’s be crystal clear — this is what I think Nuno will pick, not what I’d go with.
| Position | Player |
|---|---|
| GK | Areola |
| RB | Walker-Peters |
| CB | Kilman |
| CB | Todibo |
| LB | Scarles |
| CM | Fernandes |
| CM | Magassa |
| CM | Potts |
| LM | Paqueta |
| RW | Bowen |
| CF | Castellanos |
Prediction
I wish I could dress this up. I really do.
But based on recent evidence, performances, confidence levels and defensive chaos, there’s absolutely nothing convincing me West Ham get this done.
Another long night.
West Ham 0–3 Nottingham Forest.
We want to see eleven players out there playing for the badge. It’s up to Nuno to make sure that happens.
I think it’s clear that Wilson won’t start after playing 100 minutes at Wolves. Castellanos it is, with Pedro a likely sub at some point.
Both teams are so bad that it could go either way, if ever there was a six pointer this is it. If we win they’re in our sights, if they win they’re out of sight.
We simply cannot blow out again, except we definitely can. Scoreline – Is it possible for both teams to lose ?
Looking at it, with the frailties in the backside and the fact that Nuno will try and win this 1-0, I’d not be surprised if we see something akin to:
Areola – Mavropanos, Kilman, Igor – Walker-Peters, Potts, Magassa, Summerville – Fernandes, Paqueta – Bowen.
Personally, I’d like to see:
Areola – Mavropanos, Igor, Todibo, Walker-Peters – Fernandes, Potts, Paqueta – Bowen, Pablo, Castellanos.
Don’t think it matters though, if Nuno has lost the dressing room, the match and our premier league survival will be over by half time.
If your team selection made it onto the pitch I’d cheer! I’d be tempted to try Ezra Mayers who has seemed calm under pressure.
My Picks, not anybody else’s:
GK Areola
RB Walker-Peters
CB Mavrapanos
CB Todibo
LB Scarles
CM Fernandes
CM Magassa
CM Potts
RW Bowen
CF Pablo
LM Paqueta
Please no Killman , I’d rather Mavro because at least he can head the ball . Calamity Killman just needs red hair/nose to look like the clown he always is slipping on imaginary banana skins in the penalty area .
Surely anyone is better than Kilman at the back. We are better off playing a lamppost than Kilman. Whilst it’s just as static it won’t get out of the way.
Parking the bus in place of Kilman might be even better than a lamp post. I mean, Nuno is sure to want to park the bus in the second half even if we’re only level so may as well substitute it for Kilman.
😂