Nottinghamshire

After the disappointment of losing in the Europa League semi-finals, Nottingham Forest return to action looking to taking a step closer to securing their Premier League status, against Newcastle on Sunday (14:00 BST). BBC Sport looks at the key themes ahead of the fixture.

Forest must now concentrate on survival

Having had their dreams of European glory ruthlessly dashed by Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest must now pick themselves up and secure the points they need to secure their Premier League status for next season.

Six points clear of West Ham with three games to go, four points would definitely see them stay up, but a win should also prove to be enough given their vastly superior goal difference over the Hammers.

The manner of Thursday's 4-0 defeat at Villa Park was surprising given what a rich vein of form they have been in.

The improvement by Vitor Pereira's side in front of goal in recent weeks has been astonishing. Having managed a paltry 28 goals in their first 30 league games of the season they have banged in a remarkable 16 in their last five.

Those 16 goals - from only 49 shots - have come from an xG of just 6.8, meaning they have overperformed it by an incredible 9.2.

Pereira's sharpshooters have scored three or more goals in three consecutive Premier League games for the first time since March to April 1995 having trounced Sunderland 5-0, Burnley 4-1 and Chelsea 3-1.

Newcastle desperate to end challenging season on a high

After a damaging run of nine defeats in 12 league games, Newcastle stopped the rot last Saturday with a morale-boosting win over Brighton.

It lifted some of the pressure that has been mounting on head coach Eddie Howe, with media reports following the match asserting that he will still be in charge next season.

However, the win over Brighton does not paper over the cracks of what has been an extremely disappointing league campaign and Howe will be desperate to finish strongly, going into what will be a key summer of squad rebuilding.

"It's been a big learning season for us," reflected defender Dan Burn after the win over the Seagulls. "We've struggled mentally, attacking on all four fronts the way that we did. It was tough going into games when you were just recovering and going again."

They will be hoping to address their awful away form that has seen them pick up just 16 points from 17 games. Wolves (seven) and Sunderland (14) are the only sides than have scored fewer than the 16 goals the Geordies have on the road.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White could miss the rest of the season with boss Vitor Pereira uncertain about his fitness.

The 26-year-old was an unused substitute in Thursday's 4-0 Europa League semi-final second leg defeat at Aston Villa.

Forest lost 4-1 on aggregate as Villa progressed to the final in Istanbul on 20 May to play Freiburg.

Gibbs-White was named on the bench after suffering a serious cut on his head during Monday's win at Chelsea but Pereira admitted he was not fit.

"I cannot answer because I don't know about Morgan," said Pereira, when asked if he will play again this season.

"I don't know about Ola (Aina). Callum (Hudson-Odoi) has finished the season, I don't know about Murillo. In the end I need Friday.

"If you look at our bench (against Villa), we brought three players in condition to play (Lorenzo) Lucca, (Dilane) Bakwa and (Ryan) Yates and three players injured without conditions to go to help the team.

"Three boys from the academy and Murillo with a risk to play, who's not yet ready to play. I have the day to understand the situation."

Forest host Newcastle on Sunday still looking to seal Premier League survival with Pereira aware of the mental recovery needed.

"It's difficult, but it's difficult on Thursday. Friday is another day," he said.

"But we need to compete against Newcastle, a very important game in the battle of relegation and, especially mentally, we need to come back."

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Newcastle at the City Ground (kick-off 14:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Pereira confirmed Callum Hudson-Odoi will not play again this season.

• He hopes to gain clarity later on Friday as to whether Ola Aina, Murillo or Morgan Gibbs-White will return for the final games.

• On Forest's growing injury list: "I hope that we don't have another injury because this is difficult, to compete in this level. Three days after three days after three days, losing players and losing players."

• He said they "need to come back" fighting after the Europa League semi-final defeat as Sunday is "a very important game in the battle of relegation".

• On the defeat to Aston Villa: "We needed everyone in condition to compete. If we have everyone, I believe we have the conditions to compete with them. It was not possible. I cannot complain about my players, they tried. The players that started the game, they tried everything."

• He said Friday "will be difficult" as they process the defeat, but "it's a day to recharge".

• More on the importance of the Newcastle game: "It's a day to come back again with our supporters - playing at home - and to try our best to get points and to finish the situation of the Premier League."

Listen to live commentary of the match on BBC Radio 5 Live from 14:00 BST on Sunday

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The team on BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football have unpicked defeat in the Europa League but ex-Forest defender Brian Laws wants to focus on the positive impact Vitor Pereira has made.

Pereira joined the club in February, becoming their fourth manager of the campaign.

At the time, Forest were 17th in the top flight - three points above the drop zone, after two wins in their previous 10 games.

They look well placed to survive and after losing at Aston Villa in the last four of the Europa League, Laws said: "We must not forget what's been achieved. The turmoil we've had through the season has been ridiculous. To have four managers in, the heads of the players are all over the place.

"Great credit to Pereira coming in. It's not tactical, not technical, it's about reconnecting the players because they were all over the place. We were absolutely on our knees. We could not see a goal. We could not see a win. We could not see a point.

"I was looking ahead and thinking 'when are we going to get these points? Where are we going to score these goals? How are we going to get the points to survive?'"

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We asked for your views after Nottingham Forest were beaten by Aston Villa (4-0 on the night and 4-1 on aggregate) in their Europa League semi-final.

Here are some of your comments:

Kris: Honestly, can't feel too disappointed after the season we've had. Nobody would have tipped us for a semi-final if they'd seen our first game against Midtjylland, where we were woeful under Ange. We were down to the bare bones too, with four injured players on the bench. Good luck Villa in the final, well worth the win.

James: A dire performance to end an incredible run. Last week we put it all in but today, helped by injuries, we were appalling. Wood and Igor were getting absolutely nothing from the midfielders and the defenders seriously have to wake up. Overall a shocking display.

Craig: A step too far for Forest. Depleted squad but at least they gave us something to hope for from a shocking season of upheaval. I am just bracing myself for another major upheaval this summer with no European competition as a selling point. Marinakis is going to have to work wonders to keep some of our stars - MGW, Anderson, Murillo, Sangare - that's the backbone of the team. Going to be a tough summer.

Phil: After such a promising first leg we just didn't turn up to the second leg - Villa wanted it more and all credit to them. Proud of our run to the semis but now we need to regroup and make sure we stay in the Premier League and move on to next season.

Ian: An unexplainable lack of fight. While our manager may make excuses about injuries last night, he wasn't saying that on Sunday when we beat Chelsea with an 11 that was arguably weaker. My concern is Vitor Pereira's luck will run out and he'll be yet another manager gone in the summer. I just hope we can pick ourselves up and win one more match as relegation is still a possibility.

C: So sad that Forest had so many key players off injured. We must reflect on how far we have come in the last four years but must aim for consistency next season. Our hearts and blood pressure need a calm watch please.

Former Nottingham Forest defender Brian Laws speaking on a new episode of Shut Up And Show More Football after the Europa League defeat at Aston Villa: "It was so one-sided and Villa, their preparation, their organisation - the manager's got it right. He's attacked it in a way that it was always going to be important for who scores first.

"And Villa getting that first goal was key to their success. Once they'd got that, they knew they had an edge on Forest and they were winning every second ball. I've played in games like that before when you know you're on top. You know you're winning all the seconds.

"You're anticipating where the ball's going to go and you're picking up all them bits. Villa were just relentless. And hats off to them. Congratulations to them. On the night they were the best team, and I'm just disappointed that we conceded four, but it could've been more.

"They were dominant. I know it's hard to swallow when you're saying we've just got beat 4-0 away from home when really it should've been a lot closer than that."

On whether a pile up of fixtures and strain on the squad was key: "Well, I'm sure there's an element of it. You cannot just say that's the reason. There's several reasons why we didn't win tonight, but that's just part of it. At the end of the day, they wanted it more than we did.

"Tonight, there was a, a clear message. They nailed Anderson early in the game and throughout it. They know he's the danger man. You can't give him the freedom as everything that's good goes through him, and goes through Gibbs-White.

"That was a loss because he can carry the ball further up the field. We didn't have anything so that we could hold the ball up in that top end. Woods was living off scraps. And, you know, Jesus was almost running round like a headless chicken really. Never looked like scoring, did we?"

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After defeat in the semi-finals of the Europa League, Forest boss Vitor Pereira told BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray: "Tough night but in the end I'm proud of our players and our supporters.

"We tried, they tried, the players that started, they tried everything. To play the second leg away we need every player in condition and if you look at our bench today we brought three young boys from the academy, we brought four players [with] injuries on the bench.

"It was a pity because to compete for this final, just with the three subs to do it, in conditions to go on the game - and we take the risk with Murillo who is not ready yet - it was very tough."

He added: "We look for the result and it's tough but I'm proud of what we did in the competition. [Getting to the] semi-finals is not easy and the only thing that I pity is that we didn't have the chance to come into the game with the full squad, with everyone in condition to compete and to help the team."

On facing Newcastle on Sunday, 14:00 BST, Pereira said: "This is something that I don't understand. We played three days ago, we play three days after this game.

"Teams without this kind of European competition, they will play Monday. In the end we have a lot of injuries because they are not machines, they cannot deal with this kind of schedule."

Hear the interview in full below or listen on BBC Sounds

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest were well beaten and never looked like defending the hard-earned first-leg lead.

The visitors lacked ingenuity and intelligence going forward.

Chris Wood barely had scraps to feed off and James McAtee was replaced by Ryan Yates at half-time, having failed to make an impact.

Elliot Anderson, so controlling in the first leg, was a near passenger in midfield as he was unable to get a grip on the game.

After all the positivity following the first leg and the impact head coach Vitor Pereira has made in barely three months at the club, this was a desperately disappointing end to Forest's first European campaign in 30 years.

Yet the club have come a long way in four years since promotion back to the Premier League and a reflection on that journey is needed amid the pain that will be felt.

This has been a chaotic season, with four managers, a relegation battle and now a European semi-final exit, but Forest do not do anonymity.

Perhaps stability is what they need next season, to settle under Pereira, but recent history would suggest that is unlikely.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira, speaking to TNT Sports: "To compete in a semi-final and against a team like Aston Villa, we need everyone in the conditions to compete. If you look before the game, on the bench we had three players, because the other ones were injured. Our bench today, the only solutions we had from the first team was [Dilane] Bakwa, [Lorenzo] Lucca, Murillo, we tried but he was injured and not in condition, and Yates. This is very short to come here without solutions.

"Playing against Chelsea and then travelling again to come here after three days, it was not possible. I'm very proud of our supporters, they tried on this long road to help us, but it was not possible. It is a pity but I am proud of my players because they tried everything."

On the Villa penalty decision: "I didn't see it, but I tell you one thing, this referee was a very good referee but not for us. A lot of yellow card and fouls, a lot of fouls against us and against them, they forget. He permitted a lot of the aggressiveness. In the end I don't want to use an excuse. To resume, today we were not in our level to compete for the semi-final."

On why Forest could not match Villa's intensity: "[Ola] Aina out. Morgan [Gibbs-White] out. [Ibrahim] Sangare, out. Murillo, out. Callum [Hudson-Odoi], out. [Dan] Ndoye, out. To bring the full squad, we put three injured players on the bench, and we brought three more players from the academy. To compete in a game in these conditions, after a game against Chelsea, and play in a semi-final is not possible. This is why I said we were not able to compete."

Did you know?

• Nottingham Forest have been eliminated from each of their last three major cup semi-finals – the 2022-23 League Cup v Manchester United, the 2024-25 FA Cup v Manchester City, and this season's Europa League v Aston Villa.

• Nottingham Forest have conceded five goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half - only Feyenoord (seven) have conceded more in the Europa League this season.

Nottingham Forest have missed out on their first major European final since 1980 after a 4-0 defeat by Aston Villa at Villa Park.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know how you are feeling.

Get in touch with your views here

Come back on Friday for a selection of your replies