Nottingham Forest in Dream Team 2025/26: Top performers, smart selections & potential flops

NOTTINGHAM FOREST were arguably the most fascinating team of 2024/25.

Having finished 17th the season before, the two-time European champions punched well above their weight as they spent the majority of the campaign in the Champions League places.

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Nuno has done a fantastic job at the City GroundPA

A late wobble caused them to finish 7th but that still resulted in European qualification and Crystal Palace’s demotion because of Uefa’s rules regarding multi-club ownership means Forest will compete in the Europa League (pending appeal). 

Most Dream Team managers had their heads turned by the Premier League’s likeable underdogs last season and so let’s analyse their top performers, smart selections and potential flops for 2025/26.

TOP PERFORMERS

Keeping hold of Morgan Gibbs-White (£4.5m) amid strong interest from Spurs will please the City Ground faithful no end.

The 25-year-old is the heartbeat of the team and, crucially for Dream Team bosses, as close to rotation-proof as possible. 

The England midfielder racked up 203 points via 18 goal involvements last season and those figures could increase this time around with extra European fixtures in the schedule.

GettyGibbs-White has signed a new contract at Forest[/caption]

Matz Sels (£3.5m) is the third-most popular goalkeeper in Dream Team at the time of writing and with good reason.

The Belgium international shared the Golden Glove with David Raya (£4.5m) last term after keeping 13 clean sheets in the top flight.

Sels also ranked second for total saves with 132.

Nuno Espirito Santo makes no secret of the fact he sets his team up with the intention of keeping a clean sheet and so centre-back pairing Murillo (£4m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£4m) must also be considered among the most appealing options.

The pair have established a strong partnership and will be hopeful of a solid start with Brentford, West Ham, Burnley and Sunderland to come within their first six league games.

Sels was not short of clean sheets last seasonGetty

SMART SELECTIONS

Neco Williams (£3.5m) offers a more affordable route into the defence.

The Welsh left-back may not generate as many headlines as Murillo and Milenkovic but he played his part in Forest’s huge overachievement last season.

In fact, he made the most tackles (95) among Forest defenders in 2024/25.

Whisper it quietly but Forest might have made one of the shrewdest signings of the summer in Dan Ndoye (£3m).

The Switzerland winger, a real handful on his day, is considered the direct replacement for Anthony Elanga (£4m) on the right flank.

He notched nine goals and six assists for Bologna last season and will quickly be considered a viable bargain if he hits the ground running in English football.

GettyNdoye will get Forest fans off their seats[/caption]

POTENTIAL FLOPS

Nothing would make us happier than to be proved wrong but we fear for Chris Wood (£4m) this time around.

The big New Zealander was sensational last season; only Mohamed Salah (£7.5m), Erling Haaland (£7.5m) and Alexander Isak (£6.5m) scored more league goals.

Perhaps the 33-year-old will be able to replicate his clinical performances but it should be noted that no forward outperformed their xG by a greater margin in 2024/25.

This is evidence of his pinpoint finishing but it tends to be the case that these things level out over time.

Can Wood go again?PA Wire

For all their defensive might, Forest’s attacking metrics are average at best under Nuno and they’ve struggled for goals in pre-season.

Still, their favourable opening fixtures encourage Dream Team bosses to take a punt and nobody in the squad banked more points (244) than Wood last time out.

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