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 on 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.
Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Morato, Netz; Hutchinson, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White; Jesus; Wood
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Smith, Hill, Senesi, Truffert; Scott, Adams; Rayan, Kroupi, Tavernier; Evanilson
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 in 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.
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.
