Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of survival are fading even further. Nottingham Forest has effectively secured its Premier League survival.
Nottingham crushed Sunderland 5-0 in an away match of the 2025-2026 Premier League Round 34 at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, England, on the 25th (Korean time).
With this, Nottingham recorded 39 points (10 wins, 9 draws, 15 losses) and held onto 16th place. The ranking remains unchanged, but they widened the gap with 17th-place West Ham United (33 points), which has played one fewer match, and 18th-place Tottenham (31 points).
After 38 rounds, the Premier League relegates the teams in 18th through 20th to the Championship. Burnley in 19th and Wolverhampton in 20th have already lost their chances of survival. With Nottingham winning this match, West Ham and Tottenham are left to wage a fierce survival battle.
Nottingham, riding a rise with two wins and three draws in their last five matches, pressed from the start. They pounded on Sunderland's goal with intense forward pressure and quick attacks centered on Morgan Gibbs-White. They took an early lead when an opponent scored an own goal in the 17th minute of the first half.
Nottingham put on a firepower show. In the 31st minute of the first half, Chris Wood struck the net after receiving Gibbs-White's pass in the center of the box, and three minutes later Gibbs-White opened his scoring account, effectively sealing the game.
It was not over there. Nottingham added Igor Jesus's goal in the 37th minute of the first half to score a remarkable four goals in the first half alone. From a set piece, a shot deflected off a defender and ricocheted to Jesus, who was fortunate to have it drop to him, and he did not miss the chance.
Sunderland also had possession and tried to counter, but Nottingham showed efficient game management with solid defense and dangerous counterattacks. Sunderland's Daniel Ballard's consolation goal in the 16th minute of the second half was even overturned by video review. In the end, Nottingham put the finishing touch on the 5-0 rout with Elliott Anderson's stoppage-time goal in the second half.
The Nottingham squad, effectively out of the relegation fight, could not hide its joy. Only four games remain this season. Considering Nottingham's recent form—unbeaten in six matches, drawing 2-2 with Manchester City and thrashing Tottenham 3-0—it is hard to imagine Nottingham falling to 18th place.
In fact, football statistics outlet Opta calculated using a supercomputer that Nottingham's relegation probability dropped to 0.65%. By contrast, West Ham's rose to 37.98% and Tottenham's to 61.01%. The relegation cloud hanging over Tottenham is growing darker.
For Tottenham, they must win the away match at Wolverhampton on the 25th. Tottenham recently appointed Roberto De Zerbi as manager, but they still have not won a Premier League match in 2026. They have managed only six draws and nine losses in their last 15 matches. If they fail to win again, relegation for the first time in 49 years will be right in front of them.
[Photo] ©Gettyimages (unauthorized reproduction and redistribution prohibited), Nottingham, Premier League social media.
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