Bournemouth will aim to secure a top-six finish in the Premier League and hope to qualify for the UEFA Champions League when they take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Sunday.
The 2025/26 Premier League season will reach its conclusion this weekend with Gameweek 38. All ten games will kick off simultaneously, and the City Ground will host Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth, with the away side pushing for a top-six finish and the hosts having nothing to play for after guaranteeing safety from relegation.
Nottingham Forest endured a dramatic 2025/26 campaign. The Tricky Trees were in the relegation battle until the final few rounds of fixtures in the Premier League while going deep in the UEFA Europa League before losing to Aston Villa in the semi-finals. However, apart from the possibility of finishing 15th, they have nothing to play for on the final day. Nevertheless, Vitor Pereira has done his job after becoming the fourth permanent head coach at the City Ground.
On the other hand, Bournemouth will have the chance to qualify for the UEFA Champions League if they end up in the sixth spot and Aston Villa fall to fifth in the Premier League standings. A top-six finish seemed unlikely midway through the campaign when the Cherries were struggling to win a game.
However, after embarking on a mind-boggling 17-game unbeaten streak, the longest active run in the top flight, Andoni Iraola’s men have put themselves in a healthy position and qualified for Europe for the first time in their history. All that now remains is to determine which competition Bournemouth will play in next season.
The reverse fixture saw Bournemouth clinch a 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest, with Marcus Tavernier and Eli Junior Kroupi finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Nottingham Forest
Vitor Pereira has received positive updates on the team news front ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Nottingham Forest head coach may be bereft of the services of only five first-team players vs Bournemouth on Sunday.
Dan Ndoye (groin) and Ola Aina (knock) have resumed training this week, and they may be available to take on Bournemouth. However, John Victor (knee), Murillo (hamstring), Nicolo Savona (knee), Willy Boly (knee), and Callum Hudson-Odoi (thigh) remain in the treatment room.
Matz Sels is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Nottingham Forest lining up in a 4-4-1-1 formation in front of him vs Bournemouth on Sunday. The backline will feature Neco Williams, Nikola Milenkovic, Morato, and Luca Netz.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Elliot Anderson and Nicolas Dominguez in the central areas, while Omari Hutchinson and Morgan Gibbs-White will take creative charge on the flanks. Finally, Chris Wood will lead the line for Forest against Bournemouth, with Igor Jesus completing the numbers in the offensive unit.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Morato, Netz; Hutchinson, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White; Jesus; Wood
Bournemouth
Like his counterpart in the Nottingham Forest dugout, Andoni Iraola has no new issues to worry about ahead of the trip to the City Ground. The Bournemouth head coach will be without three first-team players on Sunday.
Ryan Christie continues his suspension, and he will only be available next season. Meanwhile, Alex Jimenez remains indefinitely unavailable due to issues off the field. Julio Soler is the only player in the treatment room due to a hamstring injury.
Djordje Petrovic will retain his spot between the sticks, with Bournemouth lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Nottingham Forest on Sunday. The backline will feature Adam Smith, James Hill, Marcos Senesi, and Adrien Truffert.
As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Alex Scott and Tyler Adams in the double pivot. Eli Junior Kroupi will reprise the no. 10 role, with Rayan and Marcus Tavernier being the two wide attackers. Finally, Evanilson will spearhead the Bournemouth attack against Nottingham Forest on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Adams; Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest are winless in all seven Premier League games against Bournemouth (D3 L4), both the most they have faced a side without ever winning, and the most the Cherries have faced a side without losing in the competition. However, the Cherries are looking to complete just their second league double over Nottingham Forest, previously doing so in the 2021/22 Championship campaign when they were both promoted.
- Nottingham Forest have won their final league game in just one of the last six seasons (D2 L3), beating relegated Burnley 2-1 in 2023/24. Bournemouth beat Leicester City 2-0 in Gameweek 38 in the 2024/25 season, but they have not won their final league game in consecutive campaigns since doing so in 1993/94 and 1994/95 (vs Reading and Shrewsbury in the third tier).
- Nottingham Forest have scored 19 goals in their last seven Premier League games, one more than they had in their previous 19 between November and March (18).
- Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last 17 Premier League games (W8 D9). The only non-title-winning teams to have a longer run at the end of a campaign are Chelsea (21 in 2007/08) and Liverpool (19 in 2021/22), both of whom finished second.
- Bournemouth have drawn 17 Premier League games this season, the joint-most of any side in a 38-game campaign. It is also the most draws for a side to finish in the top half of the table since Newcastle United in 2003/04 (17, finished 5th).
Player to Watch
Morgan Gibbs-White
While Eli Junior Kroupi, Marcos Senesi, and Elliot Anderson were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Morgan Gibbs-White as the Player to Watch for Sunday’s Premier League clash between Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth at the City Ground.
The English international has been involved in ten goals in his last nine Premier League outings (8 goals, 2 assists). No player has managed more in this timeframe (since the start of March), and Gibbs-White will feel his omission from England’s squad for the 2026 FIFA World Cup was unfair. Nevertheless, he will aim to end a solid campaign on a high by guiding his team to a win this weekend.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Bournemouth
Sunday’s match at the City Ground features two of the most in-form teams in the Premier League. While Nottingham Forest lost to Manchester United last week, that result ended an eight-match unbeaten run. On the other hand, Bournemouth’s most recent defeat came over four months ago.
Meanwhile, the Cherries have an impressive record away at the City Ground. Having been winless in their first eight away league games against Nottingham Forest between 1950 and 2021 (D4 L4), they have since emerged victorious on three of their four visits to the City Ground (D1).
With nothing stopping the Bournemouth juggernaut, Nottingham Forest will also fall short despite a valiant attempt to stop the visitors in their tracks. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 win for Andoni Iraola and his charges, with the Spanish tactician bowing out with a bang.
