Nottingham Forests is empty, their Champions League dream is quickly shattering

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White looks frustrated

We are not saying that the Nottingham Forest's luck has been exhausted, or their luck has been exhausted-but we are not surprised to see their Champions League dreams shattered for a simple reason.

Forests have far exceeded expectations in the Premier League this season – Chris Wood has accumulated 11.1 xGs but scored 19 goals against Brentford on Thursday – a big reason for their scrambling for the top five.

But another statistic shows why they lost, which looks likely after losing to Brentford.

Nuno only activated 23 players in the 2024/25 Premier League season - as expected, the lowest of all teams. They were completely broken, which was obvious.

Brentford became the latest team to take advantage of this Thursday night, and four days ago, Forest was defeated by Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-finals.

Nuno's team faces the "Bees" at home with one less game, and they know that if they win, they can move to third place in the Premier League. But they failed to achieve this and ended up being sixth with only goal difference, with only four games left. Four finals are coming soon, with opponents being Crystal Palace, Leicester City, West Ham United and top five rivals Chelsea. Starting from Monday's away challenge to Selhurst Park Stadium, Forests must regain their hearts to realize their Champions League dream.

On that intense night at the City Stadium, Brentford performed better, especially in the first half, both sides were emotional and tackled frequently.

Kean Lewis Porter, Brian Mbemo, Christian Norgaard, Morgan Gibbs White and Elliott Anderson all received yellow cards in the opening 45 minutes. Neko Williams, Yehall Yarmoluk and Christopher Ayer also received yellow cards in the second half.

We know what you're thinking - yes, there were indeed five yellow cards in the first half and three yellow cards in the second half, and Ryan Yates was not involved. This is shocking, isn't it?

Thomas Frank's team took the lead 90 seconds before halftime. Nathan Collins made a wonderful pass to Kevin Shad, who stabbed the ball into the goal of Matts Sells when Ola Einer was poor in defense. It was a nice assist, but the final goal was a bit messy.

Joan Visa continued his good form and helped Brentford lead 2-0 in the 70th minute, while the Forest players seemed a little busy. Goalkeeper Mark Fleken kicked a sharp kick on the court, which was awkwardly resolved by the Forests' defense. Visa picked it lightly and the ball passed over Sels.

Even if qualifying for the UEFA Cup is a remarkable achievement for Nuno and his players, they are in the top three almost all season, so it would be a serious blow if they end up missing the Champions League.

The good news for Forests is that the gap between No. 3 Newcastle United and No. 6 Aston Villa is still competitive but is very encouraging to them at the City Stadium.

The bad news for me is that the pace of the game is too fast, the situation changes easily, and I can be very embarrassed when the teams around me lose points and the Forest defeated Crystal Palace on Monday.

From the current situation, this seems unlikely - unless Nuno's players find the second force they desperately need.