The Big Question: How did Bournemouth v Forest become a top-four battle?

Football writer Ben Bloom compares the contrasting styles that have taken two former Championship clubs into the Premier League's top seven.

On a chilly May evening on the south coast a little under three years ago, AFC Bournemouth welcomed Nottingham Forest with the stakes high.

As with now, both clubs went into the match in excellent form, situated near the top of the table and only looking up as the season headed towards its climax.

Only there was a monumental difference to Saturday’s upcoming rematch between the two sides at the Vitality Stadium.

Back then, their meeting was a Championship fixture; now it features two Premier League clubs battling to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.

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The upturn in such a short timeframe is scarcely believable. Neither Bournemouth nor Forest have finished in the top half of the Premier League table since they both gained promotion in that 2021/22 campaign – Bournemouth automatically and Forest through the playoffs.

Yet they are now two of the division’s most in-form sides.

Unbeaten in eight league matches, Forest have dropped just two points during that run and are pushing Arsenal hard for second place in the table.

Bournemouth have not tasted defeat for 10 league matches and find themselves only one point behind fifth place, a position that looks highly likely to bring Champions League football next campaign.

Premier League

Position Pos	Club	Played Pl	GD	Points Pts
1	Liverpool LIV	21	+30	50
2	Arsenal ARS	22	+22	44
3	Nott'm Forest NFO	22	+11	44
4	Chelsea CHE	22	+17	40
5	Man City MCI	22	+15	38
6	Newcastle NEW	22	+12	38
7	Bournemouth BOU	22	+10	37

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Those are unexpectedly lofty aspirations for two clubs whose concerns have been far humbler over recent decades.

Indeed, in three successive seasons from 2005/06 to 2007/08, they met each other down in League One.

With Forest not dropping below the second tier since then, their paths diverged when Bournemouth were subsequently relegated to spend two seasons in League Two.

Hit with a 17-point penalty for failing to follow insolvency rules amid major financial struggles, the Cherries even narrowly avoided falling into non-league football on the penultimate day of the 2008/09 season.

Final positions in Premier League (PL) or Championship (C) since 2015

The present-day Bournemouth is an entirely different proposition to that which almost lost Football League status, and playing European football for the first time in their history would be in line with the club’s grand plans.

Scheduled to move into their new multi-million-pound training facility imminently, Bournemouth also harbour hopes of developing a new home ground next to the existing Vitality Stadium, vastly increasing the current 11,307 capacity, which is the lowest in the Premier League.

In seven top-flight seasons, Bournemouth have never finished higher than ninth.

For Forest, their unexpected resurgence after successive relegation battles has raised the prospect of returning to Europe’s premier competition for the first time in the Champions League era.

Brian Clough famously guided the club to a First Division title and two European Cups in the late 1970s, while Forest’s sole European campaign of the last 40 years was in the UEFA Cup after a third-place finish in the Premier League in 1994/95. That remains their joint-highest finish since the 1970s.

Contrasting styles

Notable in both clubs’ success this season has been the vast difference in playing styles employed to achieve their results.

Forest have beaten four of the seven clubs competing in Europe this season - Aston Villa, Liverpool (inflicting their only league defeat of the campaign), Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Bournemouth have defeated four European entrants - Arsenal, Manchester City, Man Utd and Spurs.

Yet they have done so through entirely contrasting means.

How the sides compare (PL ranking)

While there is no great difference in possession between the two sides – with neither seeing much of the ball compared to their Premier League rivals – it is how and where they win it back that varies most.

Under Nuno Espirito Santo, Forest have perfected the art of remaining compact in defence when out of possession, soaking up pressure – and even inviting opponents to break them down – before launching lethal counter-attacks. With the brilliant Chris Wood leading their front line, they have been clinical when they do eventually gain the ball.

Forest's 1-0 win at Anfield in September epitomised Nuno’s pragmatic approach.

Their manager packed the middle of the pitch with five central midfielders, nullified Liverpool’s threat and then saw his side strike late on after the introduction of Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi from the bench.

Conversely, Bournemouth have committed to one of the league’s most intense high presses under Andoni Iraola, constantly seeking to win balls in the final third and rapidly capitalise on their opportunities.

Their tally of 45 shots from high turnovers ranks first in the league, with Iraola telling Sky Sports earlier this season: "The first thing we try to do when we recover the ball is play to the No 9, because that is usually the moment when the opponent is less well positioned and you can find better spaces."

The thrilling commitment to intensely hunting opposition defenders high up the pitch was evident in last week’s 4-1 win at Newcastle United.

After that match, Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo explained: "We just knew we needed to get the press right and if we did we’d get opportunities. As you saw from a couple of the goals, we got the press right and got the three points.

"We knew they had moments when they’d keep it at the back and we wanted to catch out the back four.

"As soon as the goalkeeper passed to the centre-back, that was our trigger to go, and it worked out perfectly."

Both Bournemouth and Forest are enjoying triumphs of management, stunning multiple heavyweight rivals through their extreme tactics.

In a prospect that would have seemed highly improbable before the season, it means Saturday’s match is a battle between two contenders to play in the Champions League next season.

Few would have expected that when they locked horns in the Championship so recently.