Nuno Espirito Santo‘s men will be commencing their summer exhibition period this weekend, while their hosts have already lost to Matlock Town in non-competitive action.
Sharing Everton’s pain when it came to falling foul of the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules, Nottingham Forest’s four-point deduction put their brief stay in the big time under serious threat, especially as the Tricky Trees were unsuccessful with their appeal.
However, thanks to the joint efforts of Steve Cooper and former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Nuno Espirito Santo, the Tricky Trees ended the top-flight campaign with nine wins and an equal number of draws to avoid the dreaded drop back down to the Championship.
As Burnley, Luton Town and Sheffield United all fell through the trapdoor, Santo’s men – who won two of their final three fixtures – narrowly staved off demotion in 17th place to ensure a third straight campaign in the Premier League, despite setting a new unwanted record of sorts.
With 32 points on the board, Nottingham Forest’s total is the lowest-ever for a surviving team – surpassing West Bromwich Albion’s 34 from 2004-05 – but the fact of the matter is that the Garibaldi are still alive and kicking with the other 19 best teams in the land.
Before hosting Bournemouth in their opening top-flight fixture of the campaign on August 17, Nottingham Forest will also tackle Elche, Olympiacos, Villarreal, Sunderland and Millwall in pre-season, but less revered opposition are first up for Santo’s crop.
As Nottingham Forest achieved their Premier League survival aim for the 2023-24 season, upcoming hosts Chesterfield also fulfilled their own mission lower down the pyramid, making their return to League Two following a six-year absence.
Paul Cook‘s men experienced a dramatic decline in the final portion of the campaign, suffering an alarming four straight defeats before ending the season with a 3-2 success over Maidenhead United, but they were still by far and away the best team in the fifth-tier land.
Cook’s team amassed a staggering 98 points and scored 106 goals to storm to the National League title, finishing 12 clear of runners-up Barnet and thereby returning to the English Football League for the first time since the 2017-18 campaign.
The Spireites’s end-of-season exploits may set a few alarm bells off, though, and Chesterfield already have one pre-season defeat to their name, suffering a penalty-shootout loss to Northern Premier League outfit Matlock Town on July 6 following a goalless draw.
Once the visit of Nottingham Forest is done and dusted, Chesterfield also have friendlies against Alfreton Town, Sheffield United, Derby County and Scunthorpe United on the menu, which precede a League Two opener at home to Swindon Town on August 9.
Team News
Prior to the June 30 financial deadline, out-of-favour goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos was the only goalkeeper to leave Nottingham Forest, but Brandon Aguilera and Lyon-bound pair Moussa Niakhate and Orel Mangala – whose sales raised £47m – have now followed suit.
Carlos Miguel, Elliot Anderson, Marko Stamenic and Eric da Silva Moreira represent a quartet of new arrivals at the City Ground, and Santo should only be without two international absentees for Saturday; goalkeeper Matz Sels was part of the Belgium squad that reached the Euro 2024 last 16, while Matt Turner represented the USA at the Copa America. As a result, Miguel may make his unofficial debut here.
The Tricky Trees have thus far managed to resist outside interest in Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi, the latter of whom has been tipped to make the move to Tottenham Hotspur, while exciting centre-back Murillo is still on the books at the City Ground too.
As far as Chesterfield are concerned, Cook has been busy reinforcing his ranks with players boasting plenty of EFL knowhow, including Tim Akinola, Chey Dunkley, Lewis Gordon and Paddy Madden.
The latter led the line for the hosts in last weekend’s draw with Matlock Town, before Dunkley, Gordon, Akinola and Kane Drummond also appeared later in the game for their friendly debuts.
Striker Joe Quigley came off just after the half-hour mark against Matlock, but the 27-year-old’s change was thought to have been planned, as there has been no mention of an injury.
Chesterfield possible starting lineup:
Boot; Sheckleford, Dunkley, Grimes, Gordon; Naylor, Akinola; Colclough, Mandeville, Dobra; Madden
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Miguel; Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Toffolo; Danilo, Sangare; Elanga, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi; Awoniyi
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