Former Tottenham and Aston Villa manager turned pundit, Tim Sherwood, has said that Forest "are relegated" from the Premier League after a poor start to the season.
The Reds are back in the top division for the first time in 23 years after winning promotion via the Championship play-offs at the end of last season. Despite a busy summer which saw Steve Cooper bring a record number of players to the City Ground, the start to the season hasn’t gone as many fans would have hoped.
A 5-0 defeat against league-leaders Arsenal at the weekend leaves the Reds bottom of the table, despite beating Liverpool 1-0 just a week earlier. Forest have picked up nine points from their opening 13 games, leaving them three points adrift of safety.
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Forest will look to close that gap on Saturday when they take on Brentford. One of the clubs that they could move level on points with with a win is Aston Villa, who will be under the stewardship of new head coach Unai Emery for the first time this weekend.
Speaking about his former club Villa on talkSPORT, Sherwood made a prediction over their fate. But he also had his say on Forest and fellow newly-promoted side Bournemouth.
“They’re not getting relegated,” he said about Villa. “They’ve got too many good players for that and there’s too many bad teams in the league.
“For me, Forest and Bournemouth are relegated, so there’s just one place up for grabs, and it won’t be Aston Villa.”
Bournemouth currently sit in 14th place in the table, two points clear of the relegation zone, and four points clear of Forest. The Cherries take on another team fighting against relegation in Leeds United on Saturday.
Following the clash against Brentford this weekend, Forest are back in action for the final time before the World Cup break on Saturday, November 12, when they take on Crystal Palace at the City Ground. The Reds then come back with a bang after Christmas with a trip to Old Trafford to take on Manchester United on December 27.
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