On December 26, Nottingham Forest won 2-1 away at Aston Villa.

On December 29, the Forest team returned to their home stadium against Sunderland, the "Black Cat". The two teams that were still playing each other in League One are now in the Premier League. The difference is the situation of the two teams, Nottingham Forest are now second in the table with 42 points, while Sunderland are bottom of the table with only six points from one win, three draws and 14 defeats after 18 league games.

Facing such a weak opponent, and it was home again, Don once again made a large-scale rotation. In addition to goalkeepers Van der Sar and George; Wood, striker Anelka, everyone else has changed.

Cheered on by the 27,000 Forest fans at the City Stadium, Nottingham Forest won comfortably. 3：1。

Chelsea won, Forest won, Manchester United won. The three teams are tightly bitten together. The gap between Chelsea and Forest is four points, while the gap between Forest and Manchester United is two. As for Liverpool, who are fourth in the league, the gap is too large and there is no possibility of threatening the three teams for the time being.

“…… We can't say Nottingham Forest have been a good spoiler this season. Looking at their squad and current standings, we should call them 'strong contenders for the league title'. In the "Today's Event" program, Lineker expressed optimism about the prospects of Donne's team.

"I'm going to do the usual thing, Gary." Mark; Laurentian appeared on the TV screen with a serious face.

Lineker looked at his smooth chin and above his lips and smacked his lips, "Are you going to bet on your hair this time, Mark?" ”

next to Alain; Hansen laughed happily.

"No, not this time." Laurentian touched her lips with her last name, even though it was useless. 'Donne's team is doing well at the moment, I admit it. But I think the real test for him is yet to come. ”

"With such a busy schedule not stopping Nottingham Forest from winning, what do you mean by 'real test'?" Lineker asked.

"February 22."

Lineker raised an eyebrow: "You mean after the Champions League resumes?" ”

Laurentian nodded: "If Donne's side can get through the third round of the FA Cup, then they will face a third-tier battle, and I think for Donn, that's the real test." ”

Lineker was silent for a moment, and during the time he didn't speak, Alain next to him; Hansen came out to disagree with Mark; Lawrenson's opinion. The example he gave was last season's performance of Forest, who played on both sides of the League Cup and the league.

'Alain, you have to understand that the Champions Cup and the League Cup are not the same level of competition, and it is not the same difficulty to compete for the league title and qualify for the Champions Cup. Laurenson's words really sound like that this time, or they really make sense.

'Nottingham Forest now have just three strikers and while Nicolas Anelka has been consistent and trustworthy since returning to the Premier League, that's their biggest concern. If one of the three strikers is injured again, it is almost impossible to rely on two strikers to fight on the third line. ”

"But Eastwood is about to be discharged from the hospital......"

"There's still a long way to go between being discharged from the hospital and playing for the team. Not to mention whether the Gypsies, who have undergone two consecutive surgeries in a period of time, can return to their previous state...... I'm not optimistic at all. Laurentian shrugged, determined to stand against the Nottingham Forest fans.

Lineker knew that the topic was going deeper, and he and Alain; Hansen will not be able to argue with Laurenson, because Laurentian has a point. So he laughed and said: "Okay, let's keep an eye on Chelsea, otherwise there should be a complaint that we have become the club TV station of Forest." ”

The three of them laughed, and in this way, the problems of the Forest team were revealed.

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As if to express that opinion to Mark; Laurensen demonstrated, December 31, after the league entered the second half, Forest won this season's "dark horse" Wigan Athletic away. On January 2, Forest won 3-1 away at Charlton Athletic.

Since December 11, after a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in the 16th round of the league, Toney; Donn's side are on a five-game winning streak at the height of the schedule.

The mighty Chelsea are also winning all the time, and after 21 league games, Jose Mourinho's ruble army is still racing at high speed. They have 18 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses, and are at the top of the table with 55 points.

Second-placed Nottingham Forest won 16, drew 3 and lost 2, followed by 51 points.

Manchester United met their arch-rivals Arsenal in the 21st round of the league and the away side drew 0-0 with Arsene Wenger's side. They are now third with 47 points, and the gap to Nottingham Forest has widened to four.

However, no one dares to underestimate Manchester United, with Alex Ferguson's side picking up a point at Highbury, but it was comparable to three. There is hope without a loss, and that may be the unanimous belief of Manchester United fans.

Don didn't dare to let up, he knew that there was a pack of wolves chasing after him. Don't look at him now, he is also a member of the wolf pack, as long as he relaxes a little, he will be chased and pounced on by the latter and torn to pieces.

After a nerve-wracking and muscular Christmas schedule, clubs were given a chance to rest. The next round of the league doesn't start until January 14, with two weeks in between and nothing but an FA Cup game.

In the FA Cup, Donn used rotation as usual in this type of competition. They will face Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, with Nottingham Forest comfortably winning at home to advance to the next round.

Mark; Laurenson's prophecy seems to be kicking in.

The Forest team, which has won consecutive victories, is rushing forward on three fronts, enjoying the thrill of victory, but the danger of overturning is also with them.

But no matter how many dangers lurk in the future, a victory in front of us is good news for everyone in the Forest team, and who wouldn't love a win?

(To be continued)