What Makes Nottingham Forest Stand Out From The Rest: Explained!

In recent years, the Premier League has become something of a tactical monolith. It doesn’t matter whether teams set-up in a 4-3-3 or a 3-4-3 formation, the overarching fundamental theories remained the same – high lines, high pressing and a focus on specific passing and pressing systems designed to compact the playing field in defence and explore width in attack. 

It felt as if the successful philosophies of Pep Guardiola and Jürgen Klopp, in particular, had become the stepping stone for every PL club to build their systems around. However, thanks to the great overachievers of the 2024/25 season so far, Nottingham Forest, Nuno Espírito Santo’s men are not just exceeding their wildest ambitions – they are taking us back to a style of football that was once considered outdated and ineffective. 

Not only is Nuno Espírito Santo’s team producing consistent results, but they are succeeding in ways that exploit the weaker points in the systems that emerged from the concoction of Klopp’s high-tempo Gegenpressing and Guardiola’s possession-based Juego de Posición.

This article delves into how Nuno Espírito Santo’s tactical choices have shaped Nottingham Forest’s performance on both sides of the pitch, offering insights into the tweaks, patterns, and methods that makes his team the ultimate underdogs in the Premier League this season. 

Build-Up Play

Nuno Espírito Santo usually sets his team up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in possession. Building up in a 4-2-3-1 formation focuses on creating a stable and flexible structure to facilitate ball progression from defense to attack. 

This formation allows for versatility in passing options, with the team able to switch play, build through the centre, or exploit wide areas, making it effective for controlling possession and launching varied attacking moves.

Rotations and Fluidity

Unlike most pragmatic systems, where players are asked to cover one specific facet of play – absorb pressure and push forward as and when an opportunity comes – the Forest players constantly rotate during the build-up. This dynamic approach of switching between formations allows them to create numerical advantages and exploit spaces. 

Even during his days in the West Midlands, Nuno’s focus was always to get his players into their best positions, where they can make the most out of their individual skills. 

Wingers like Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson Odoi, who are at their best on the wing, stay wide in possession, while players like Nicolás Domínguez and Elliot Anderson invert into the middle when playing as wingers.

This emphasis on versatility, where players interchange positions and formations seamlessly disrupts the opposition’s defensive structure. This flexibility creates numerical superiorities in different areas, allowing Nottingham to bypass the opposition’s press while maintaining control.

Nottingham Forest often create with a back three in the build-up. They do this by tucking in one of the fullbacks next to the center-backs and pushing the other one up, either on the wing or into the midfield. Nuno also at times drops a holding midfielder between the centre-backs to create a back three in the build-up.

The back three not only widens the playing field but also open up different angles for passing, making it easier to beat the opposition’s press. It gives them more options in progressing the ball up the field and disrupts the opponent’s pressing structure, helping them maintain fluidity in their play.

Direct Build-up

Unlike most Premier League clubs who use short passes and little triangles to progress their build-up play, Forest take a direct approach in their build-up play, using early long balls to target their lone striker Chris Wood. 

By sending early balls up to Wood, who is adept at holding up play and winning aerial duels, it enables Forest to quickly transition into attacking phases. This tactic disrupts their opponents’ defensive structure and allows Forest’s supporting players to move into advanced positions.

Building up like this offers minimal risk while maximising Chris Wood’s strengths, enabling him to hold up play and involve his teammates higher up the field and in turn creating fast-paced attacking opportunities.

Defensive Duties

If there’s one thing that has stood out this season, it is Forest’s defensive acumen in both open-play and set-pieces. Last season they shipped 67 goals, including 23 from set-pieces. However, with the most clean sheets and the second-best defensive record behind Arsenal, Nuno Espírito Santo’s men have been very difficult to break down in the Premier League this term. 

First Line of Defence

To prevent his team from becoming too low when defending, Nuno Espírito Santo wants his team to squeeze their opponents up the pitch. This means constantly pushing the team up as much as possible. Every time the opponent plays a slow, sideways pass or a back pass, Nottingham’s first line of pressure pushes up, with the rest of the team following to stay compact. When the next pass comes, they push up even more, forcing the opponent back even more.

This approach keeps opponents under constant pressure, making it difficult for them to build rhythm or find space between the lines. It also pushes the opponent further away from the Nottingham Forest goal, making it harder to create chances.

Mid Press

Nottingham Forest look to set up in a mid-block, always trying to close the centre and force their opponents out wide. Nuno extensively uses the 4-2-4 formation which requires a careful balance between pressing high and maintaining defensive solidity. 

The two central midfielders in this formation act as the primary shield in front of the back four while also supporting the press when the team looks to regain possession. The front four press aggressively, cutting off passing lanes and forcing the opposition into mistakes, while the back four stays compact, with fullbacks responsible for covering wide areas. 

The success of defending in this formation hinges on coordinated pressing, quick transitions, and disciplined positioning to avoid being exposed in central areas. 

Low Press

When pushed further into their own half, Nottingham Forest often switch to a 4-4-2 formation, with the wingers dropping back into the midfield line.

In this setup, the two banks of four stay tight and narrow, focused on protecting the central areas to force the opposition wide, where it’s more difficult to create high-quality chances, whereas the two forwards remain in position to block passing lanes to the opposition’s holding midfielders, making it harder for the opposition to break lines. 

This approach creates a defensive block that’s hard to penetrate, allowing Forest to absorb pressure while waiting for opportunities to counterattack.

When needed, Nottingham Forest shift from a 4-4-2 to a 4-4-1-1 formation, with one forward dropping slightly deeper to support the midfield line. This tweak further strengthens their defensive shape, making it even harder for opponents to penetrate and find space between the lines.

Work Rate

Under Nuno, the team has become more organised and compact, with every player contributing to the team’s defensive structure. The midfield and forward lines press with intensity, closing down spaces and forcing opponents into positions which allows Forest to set-up effectively against any immediate danger. 

Moreover, when a defender breaks out of shape to put pressure on an opposition player, a Forest midfielder always drops into the backline to cover for his teammate. This allows them to close the space between the centre-backs and the fullbacks. 

Furthermore, with a central midfielder stepping into these gaps, Nottingham Forest can often resort to a back five, allowing them to maintain their defensive shape, prevent overloads, and provide additional cover for their fullbacks, especially when they are pushed out wide. 

This compactness ensures that the team stays solid defensively, making it harder for the opposition to break through with wide or central attacks. Additionally, by having midfielders cover these spaces, it allows their centre-backs to stay in the box in crossing situations. 

Transitions

Defensive Transitions

Nottingham Forest have been one of the best teams in transition in the Premier League this season. In possession, they always have numbers high up and close to the ball, which is conducive to counterpressing, while having more players close to the ball after losing possession means that they can work towards regaining possession. 

As evident from their games this season, the Forest players have been very aggressive in their press after losing the ball. The four or five players closest to the ball immediately jump on the opposition player with the ball and close the distance to cut off any passing lanes. 

This approach disrupts the opponent’s transition from defense to attack, forcing errors and creating opportunities to regain control in dangerous areas. However, it requires exceptional fitness, tactical discipline, and teamwork.

Offensive Transitions

Nuno Espírito Santo always wants his team to counterattack in their offensive transitions. After winning the ball, his team transitions quickly from defense to attack, utilising the speed and movement of their forward players. Nuno emphasises on vertical passes to exploit spaces left by the opposition, often targeting wide areas or gaps between their defenders. 

Forest’s counterattacks are well-organised, with players making intelligent off-the-ball runs to create overloads, supported by clinical finishing. This quick, direct style catches opponents off guard, making them a dangerous team on the break.

Additionally, the Nottingham players have been very efficient at finding open spaces in the counterattacks. Their aggressiveness off the ball means they always have players higher up the pitch when defending, which enables them to incorporate more players into their counterattacks.

Attacking Third

Attacking the Half-Space

Nottingham Forest this season have usually looked to create chances by attacking the space between the opposition centre-backs and fullbacks. 

When one of their wingers receives the ball out wide, his primary role is to attract the opposition fullback. This opens up the space between the opposition fullback and centre-back, which allows a Forest player to make underlapping runs into the space, who can then cross the ball into the box or attack his defender in a 1v1 situation.

Moreover, the winger doesn’t always have to play the ball to the underlapping player. The run itself often drags away an opposition defensive midfielder, which opens the space inside. With the resulting space, the winger can take the ball inside and shoot or find a pass to a free player in front of the backline.

Overlaps

Forest have also been using overlaps as a key tactic to create goalscoring opportunities under Nuno Espírito Santo. This involves the fullbacks making forward runs to get around their winger, providing an extra attacking option on the flanks. This creates a 2v1 situation with the winger against the opposition fullback, which can be used to beat the fullback and create crossing opportunities.

This overlapping run forces the defending fullback to either stick with the winger or follow the overlapping fullback. If the opposition fullback drops to cover the overlapping run, the winger can cut inside and take a shot or combine with a midfielder. If the fullback covers the centre, the ball can easily be played to the overlapping player, creating a crossing opportunity.

Crowding the Box

Nottingham Forest have based their attacking play on getting multiple players into the box, creating an overload for opposition defenders, and increasing their chances of scoring. 

In their current set-up, the wingers, midfielders, and sometimes even the fullbacks look to make aggressive runs into the box when the ball is in the final third, often putting four or five players into these areas to create overloads. The numerical advantages in the box increase their chances of connecting with a cross, as more players present multiple targets, making it harder for defenders to mark everyone effectively. 

Having players in the box also allows for better positioning to react to second balls or rebounds, increasing the likelihood of capitalising on any defensive errors. Additionally, Nuno positions his midfielders and fullbacks outside the box, ready for the second balls and cut-backs.

With Nottingham Forest looking to put more crosses into the box, it pushes the opposition defenders further inside their box and opens up space in front of the opposition’s backline. The central midfielders can then collect any loose balls or be found directly in these spaces with cut-backs, and from there, they can shoot or combine with an attacker to create goalscoring opportunities.

Conclusion

With half of the 2024/25 season behind us, it has become increasingly clear what Nuno Espírito Santo’s approach is – a concoction of structured defensive resilience with selective offensive opportunities – creating a team that is difficult to break down and capable of capitalising on counterattacks. 

In a way, Forest have succeeded by rejecting the last 10-15 years of tactical development, by recognising that there are ways to exploit the overarching tactical structure of the top flight with a system which happens to have a lot in common with the most popular strategies of the 1990s and 2000s.

Forest have provided a blueprint for the smaller teams to compete with their wealthier opponents. The superclubs have spent over a decade dedicating themselves to a narrow technical and tactical vision, recruiting and training players to play a compact passing game. 

After all, we got to our current situation because the likes of Guardiola, Klopp and others showed a path towards a form of the game which was more aesthetically pleasing, more technically impressive and, eventually, more successful. 

Now that an alternative tactical approach is boring fruits, one has to wonder how quickly such teams will be able to adapt. Nuno Espírito Santo has shown us a path which is much simpler and direct, one which can actually be better at winning football matches. If Nottingham Forest can sustain their remarkable early success in 2025, other teams will surely follow in their footsteps.