Nottingham Forest produced a statement performance on Friday night April 24, 2026 , sweeping aside Sunderland with a stunning 5–0 victory to significantly strengthen their Premier League survival hopes.
The result moved Vitor Pereira’s side onto 39 points, opening up an eight-point cushion above 18th-placed Tottenham and a six-point gap over 17th-placed West Ham, with only a handful of matches remaining.
With just one relegation place realistically still in play, attention has now turned to whether the battle to avoid the drop has effectively become a two-horse race.
Is survival already within reach?
Forest’s commanding win has triggered debate over whether safety is already secured.
It is the first time in 15 years that a team on 39 points after 34 matches has found itself in danger of relegation.
Historically, no side has ever been relegated from the Premier League on 39 points at that stage of the season. In fact, across 23 previous instances, all teams on that total have survived.
Statistically, the average points tally for the team finishing 18th in a 38-game Premier League season is 34.5 points.
In recent years, that figure has dropped even further to around 29.6 points over the past five seasons.
Only six teams in Premier League history have been relegated with 39 points or more, with Birmingham City and Blackpool the most recent cases in the 2010/11 season.
Former England midfielder Jamie Redknapp told Sky Sports that 39 points is “normally enough”, but warned that nothing is guaranteed in football.
Pereira remains cautious
Despite the convincing win, Forest manager Vitor Pereira insisted his side are not yet safe.
“We need more points, we need to win more games and we need to keep our mentality,” he said after the match.
Mathematically, Forest would require just eight more points to secure their place in next season’s Premier League, which would mark their fifth consecutive campaign in the top flight.
Remaining fixtures
Forest still face a challenging run-in, with fixtures against Chelsea, Newcastle United, Manchester United and Bournemouth still to come.
Tottenham, meanwhile, have Wolves, Aston Villa, Leeds United, Chelsea and Everton remaining, while West Ham are set to face Everton, Brentford, Arsenal, Newcastle and Leeds.
“The result of the season”
Forest’s demolition of Sunderland was built on a devastating six-minute spell in the first half, during which they scored four goals after capitalising on defensive errors.
Chris Wood opened his account for the first time since the opening day, while Igor Jesus, Elliot Anderson and Morgan Gibbs-White also found the net.
Gibbs-White’s strike extended his impressive run to seven goals in as many matches.
Pundit Jamie Redknapp described the performance as “the result of the season”, praising Forest’s ruthlessness and quality.
“It was an unbelievable result,” he said. “To win 5–0 away from home at Sunderland, even with their recent struggles, is still a major statement.”
Striker Chris Wood added that survival is now “within touching distance”, although he cautioned that the job is not yet done.
What next for Spurs and West Ham?
While Forest celebrated a crucial victory, both Tottenham and West Ham face pivotal fixtures on Saturday as they attempt to pull away from danger.
Tottenham travel to already-relegated Wolves, while West Ham host Everton and former manager David Moyes.
According to Opta’s supercomputer, one of the two London clubs is now overwhelmingly likely to take the final relegation spot, with Spurs marginal favourites to go down.
Final stretch
With just a few games remaining, Forest’s dominant win has shifted the relegation picture significantly.
While mathematics still leaves room for uncertainty, statistics strongly suggest that the battle for survival may now be confined to Tottenham and West Ham.
