Alright, let’s strap on our crystal ball (which, let’s be honest, is more like a slightly foggy Magic 8-Ball) and take a cheeky peek into Nottingham Forest’s 2025/26 season, with a side of humor and a sprinkle of optimism for the Reds! After our rollercoaster ride last season, finishing seventh in the Premier League and snagging a European spot, let’s see where Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad might land in the Premier League, FA Cup, League Cup, and either the Europa League (if their appeal fairy godmother grants Palace’s demotion) or the Conference League. Here’s the tongue-in-cheek prediction:
Premier League Finish
Prediction: 6th Place
Picture this: Nottingham Forest, the Garibaldi Red warriors, storming through the 2025/26 Premier League like a pack of caffeinated squirrels. After their seventh-place finish last season with 65 points, they’re ready to climb higher. Nuno, with his intense stare and newfound love for playing the handpan to calm the lads, keeps the squad ticking. Chris Wood, ageing like a fine bottle of Rioja, keeps banging in goals (let’s say 15 this time, because 20 last season was just showing off). Matz Sels, the Golden Glove contender, is pulling off saves that make Spider-Man jealous, while Nikola Milenković and Murillo form a defensive wall so solid it could star in a Hollywood blockbuster about impenetrable fortresses, also let’s assume Jesus, Ndoye and Cunha settle in like a pair of comfy slippers.
Forest flirt with the top five for most of the season, spending a few weeks in the Champions League spots just to mess with Opta’s algorithms. But, in true Forest fashion, they hit a late-season wobble—probably losing 3-0 to Bournemouth on the final day because, well, it’s Bournemouth, and they’re Forest’s kryptonite (sorry, @Lea_EFC on X, we feel your pain). They finish sixth with 68 points, just pipping Aston Villa on goal difference after a dramatic 4-4 draw with Everton on the final day. The City Ground erupts, and owner Evangelos Marinakis is spotted doing a victory lap with a new email address, cigar and MGW on a leash shouting, “We’re basically European royalty now!” Fans on X are buzzing, though @CorporateAK’s gloom about a Championship return is proven hilariously wrong.
FA Cup Progress
Prediction: Quarter-Finals
Forest’s FA Cup run starts with a bang, smashing a plucky League Two side 5-0 in the third round, with Jesus pulling off a bicycle kick that goes viral on X (trending with #JESUSChristWhatASuperstar). They breeze through the fourth round against a Championship team, but the fifth round sees them face Tottenham, fresh off their Europa League heroics. It’s a scrappy 2-1 win, with Morgan Gibbs-White channeling his inner padel champion to score a screamer. The quarter-finals pit them against Manchester City, and despite a heroic effort (and Sels saving a penalty from Haaland), City’s robot-like precision wins 3-1. Forest fans leave Wembley chanting, “We’ll be back!” while Nuno mutters something about needing more diving practice in Dubai. A quarter-final exit is nothing to sneeze at
League Cup (EFL Cup) Progress
Prediction: Fourth Round
The League Cup, or as Forest fans call it, “That trophy we won in ’78, ’79,89 and 90” starts with promise. Forest dispatch a lower-league side in the second round with a rotated squad, giving young starlets like Zach Abbott a chance to shine. The third round sees them edge out West Ham in a penalty shootout, with Sels doing his best Peter Shilton impression. But in the fourth round, they draw Liverpool, who are in no mood for an upset after their Carabao Cup heartbreak last season. Despite a valiant 2-2 draw at Anfield, Liverpool nick it in extra time with a deflected shot that Forest fans swear was cursed by a rogue seagull. Nuno shrugs it off, saying, “We’ll save our luck for Europe.” A fourth-round exit is respectable, but the City Ground faithful are already eyeing bigger prizes.
European Competition (Europa League or Conference League)
Prediction: Europa League Semi-Finals (assuming Palace’s appeal fails) or Conference League Winners
Here’s where the plot thickens, like a good Nottinghamshire gravy. If Crystal Palace’s CAS appeal fails (and let’s face it, UEFA’s love for paperwork suggests it might), Forest inherit the Europa League spot. In the Europa League, Forest are like kids let loose in a candy store. They navigate the league phase with swagger, beating a couple of mid-tier European sides like Anderlecht and AZ Alkmaar, with Ndoye and Callum Hudson-Odoi running riot on the wings. The knockout rounds see them dispatch a Turkish side in the round of 16 and scrape past Roma in the quarter-finals, thanks to a Chris Wood header that defies physics. In the semi-finals, they face Bayern Munich, and despite a heroic 1-1 draw at home, Bayern’s firepower proves too much in the return leg (3-1). Forest bow out, but the European adventure has the City Ground dreaming of 1979 glory days, and Marinakis is already planning a statue of himself holding both a Conference League and Europa League trophy (ambitious, mate).
If Palace’s appeal succeeds and Forest stay in the Conference League, they’re the big fish in a smaller pond. They storm through the playoff round against some plucky Eastern European side, then dominate the league phase, racking up €3.2 million in prize money and a few €400,000 win bonuses. In the knockouts, they channel their inner Olympiakos (Marinakis’s other club) and bulldoze through to the final in Leipzig. Facing Fiorentina, the perennial Conference League bridesmaids, Forest clinch a 2-0 win with goals from Milenkovic and Wood, lifting the trophy and earning a Europa League spot for 2026/27. Nuno’s post-match presser includes a mic-drop moment: “Told you we’d make history.” X goes wild, with some jokingly suggesting Forest should also win the Conference in the future for good measure.
Final Verdict
Forest’s 2025/26 season is a banger: sixth in the Premier League, quarter-finals in the FA Cup, fourth round in the League Cup, and either a Europa League semi-final run or a Conference League triumph. They’re not quite back to their Brian Clough glory days, but Nuno’s got the Reds playing like they’ve got Garibaldi’s spirit in their boots. The fans are buzzing, Marinakis is plotting world domination, and X users like @SpursJourno have to eat their words as Forest prove they’re no one-season wonder. Whether it’s Europa or Conference, Forest are back in Europe, and they’re loving every minute of it. Who needs the Champions League when you’ve got this much fun?