West Ham United and Nottingham Forest will be desperate to return to winning ways when they clash at the London Stadium on Tuesday.

The games continue to come thick and fast in the 2025/26 Premier League season, as Gameweek 21 kicks off on Tuesday. The day will feature only one game, with West Ham United vs Nottingham Forest featuring teams desperate to steer clear of the relegation dogfight this term.

West Ham United could not have hoped for a worse 2025/26 campaign after struggling to get outside the drop zone for most of the season. Graham Potter lost his job a few months into this term, and Nuno Espirito Santo has won only two of the 15 games he has overseen thus far. So, it is hardly surprising that there is speculation surrounding the Portuguese tactician’s future, with the Hammers showing interest in several candidates, including Slaven Bilic.

As for Nottingham Forest, the Tricky Trees have only been marginally better than West Ham this term, and they have already sacked two managers in the first half of the 2025/26 season. Nuno Espirito Santo began the campaign at City Ground before departing after a few weeks. Ange Postecoglou could not make his mark, and Sean Dyche has gradually dragged the team a stone’s throw away from the drop zone.

Dyche’s men are four points outside the relegation zone, with West Ham occupying the 18th spot in the standings. With both clubs on excruciating winless runs, three points will be like gold dust for Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

West Ham cruised to a 3-0 win over Nottingham Forest in the reverse fixture, with Jarrod Bowen, Lucas Paqueta, and Callum Wilson finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

West Ham United

Nuno Espirito Santo has no new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The West Ham United manager may be bereft of the services of five first-team players vs Nottingham Forest on Tuesday.

The Portuguese tactician is sweating over the fitness of Jean-Clair Todibo (groin) and Lucas Paqueta (back). The duo faces late fitness tests to determine their availability. However, Lukasz Fabianski (lower back) remains in the treatment room.

Additionally, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka remain unavailable due to their participation in the Africa Cup of Nations. However, there is some reprieve for West Ham, as Valentin Castellanos has arrived from Lazio, while they have signed Pablo from Gil Vicente.

Alphonse Areola is an automatic pick between the sticks, with West Ham United lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. The backline will feature Kyle Walker-Peters, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Igor Julio, and Oliver Scarles.

As for the midfield unit, Tomas Soucek will line up alongside Freddie Potts in the double pivot. Mateus Fernandes will reprise the no. 10 role, with Jarrod Bowen and Crysencio Summerville being the two wide attackers. Finally, Callum Wilson will lead the line for West Ham against Nottingham Forest. So, Pablo and Castellanos will be backup options on the bench.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Areola; Walker-Peters, Mavropanos, Julio, Scarles; Soucek, Potts; Bowen, Fernandes, Summerville; Wilson

Nottingham Forest

Unlike his counterpart in the West Ham United dugout, Sean Dyche has a new issue to worry about ahead of the trip to the London Stadium. The Nottingham Forest manager may be without seven first-team players on Tuesday.

John Victor is the latest absentee after injuring himself in the defeat to Aston Villa this past weekend. The Brazilian goalkeeper has joined Ryan Yates (thigh) and Chris Wood (knee) in the treatment room. Additionally, Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangare are at the Africa Cup of Nations with the Ivory Coast. However, Callum Hudson-Odoi (knock) and Dan Ndoye (calf) face late fitness tests to determine their availability.

Matz Sels will replace John Victor between the sticks, with Nottingham Forest lining up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him vs West Ham United on Tuesday. The backline will feature Nicolo Savona, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, and Neco Williams.

As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Nicolas Dominguez and Elliot Anderson in the double pivot. Morgan Gibbs-White will reprise the no. 10 role, with Omari Hutchinson and Dilane Bakwa being the two wide attackers. Finally, Igor Jesus will spearhead the Nottingham Forest attack against West Ham.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Dominguez; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Bakwa; Jesus

Key Stats

• West Ham United are looking to complete their first league double over Nottingham Forest since 2011/12 in the EFL Championship and first in the top flight since 1968/69. Since their return to the Premier League in 2022, nine of the 11 goals the Tricky Trees have conceded against West Ham have come in the final 20 minutes of games, with the last five coming in the final ten minutes.
• West Ham United lost 11 home league games in 2025, their joint-most in a calendar year. However, they have not lost their first home league game in a year since 2017 (vs Manchester United), winning six and drawing two since.
• West Ham United are winless in their nine most recent Premier League games (D4 L5), and they handed Wolverhampton Wanderers their first top-flight win of the season this past weekend. The Hammers last had a longer run without a win in the competition between December 2006 and March 2007 (11 games).
• West Ham United failed to register a shot on target in their 3-0 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers at the weekend. It is the third time they have done so in the Premier League this season (also vs Arsenal and Liverpool), with no side failing in more games (Burnley also 3).
• Nottingham Forest have lost their last four Premier League games. They last lost five successive top-flight matches between August/October 2022. Meanwhile, Sean Dyche has never lost five consecutive outings in the same campaign before.

Player to Watch

Morgan Gibbs-White

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While Igor Jesus, Jarrod Bowen, and Crysencio Summerville were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Morgan Gibbs-White as the Player to Watch for Tuesday’s Premier League clash between West Ham United and Nottingham Forest at the London Stadium.

The English international was slow off the blocks after a summer of transfer saga. However, he has gradually improved while being one of the rare bright spots for Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. So, it is hardly surprising that Gibbs-White is one of our top FPL transfer recommendations for Gameweek 21, and he will be the go-to man for Sean Dyche on Tuesday.

Prediction

West Ham United 1-2 Nottingham Forest

It is almost preposterous to say that West Ham United look nothing like the team that beat Nottingham Forest 3-0 in the reverse fixture. However, such have been the East London outfit’s struggles under Nuno Espirito Santo that they look destined for the drop despite being only four points behind 17th-placed Nottingham Forest.

The visitors have not been much better than West Ham, apart from a flurry of shock results. So, a closely-contested affair is on the cards, and there may not be much to separate the two sides. However, with Nottingham Forest looking slightly more competent at both ends, The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for Sean Dyche and his charges.