Nottingham Forest seeks to halt a 20-year run as they take on Sheffield United this Saturday afternoon.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s team approaches their clash at Bramall Lane as the pivotal fixture of their Premier League campaign. With just three games remaining, Nottingham Forest holds a slender one-point lead over 18th-placed Luton Town, who could push them into the relegation zone by overcoming Everton on Friday. Despite languishing in 19th, Burnley’s recent resurgence has narrowed the gap to Forest to just two points. Consequently, Forest travels to Yorkshire eager to break a four-game winless streak and secure vital points to create some distance from the relegation zone.
Nottingham Forest eager to break 20-year drought.
While Nottingham Forest is primarily focused on the upcoming game, they also have the chance to put an end to a streak dating back to the 2003-04 season. Since then, Forest hasn’t achieved a league double over Sheffield United, a feat last accomplished when both teams were in the old Division One.
In their previous encounters that season, Forest secured a 3-1 victory at the City Ground with two goals from Marlon Harewood, while Marlon King and Gareth Taylor secured a 2-1 win at Bramall Lane. However, it’s worth mentioning that Sheffield United did defeat Forest 3-0 at the City Ground in the FA Cup fourth round during that same season.
Looking back at this season’s reverse fixture, which occurred in mid-August, Taiwo Awoniyi put Forest ahead before Chris Wood scored an 89th-minute winner for Sheffield United after Gustavo Hamer had earlier equalized.
Sheffield United facing historical odds.
Sheffield United has only managed one victory in their last nine encounters against Forest, which occurred at Bramall Lane in April 2019, resulting in a 2-0 win for them. Despite this, Forest remains undefeated in their last five meetings. Moreover, Sheffield United has avoided defeat in their last four top-flight home matches against Forest.
However, Chris Wilder’s team has endured a winless streak of eight Premier League games at their home ground. Additionally, they are just five goals away from matching the record for the most home goals conceded in a top-flight season, which stands at 56 goals conceded by Aston Villa in 1935-36.
Wilder is also aiming to prevent Sheffield United from conceding at least twice in 10 consecutive Premier League matches, a feat achieved by only three teams in the division’s history.