Nottingham Forest And Wolves Draw 0-0 At City Ground As Relegation Fears Persist

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Nottingham Forest missed a major chance to ease relegation worries as Wolves held Sean Dyche’s side to a 0-0 draw at the City Ground, despite relentless pressure and 35 attempts on goal that failed to beat Jose Sa in this Premier League clash.

The result leaves Forest still looking over their shoulder, as they could have moved level on points with Tottenham, who dismissed Thomas Frank earlier in the same day, but instead remain too close to the bottom three after failing to turn dominance into goals.

Forest started at high speed and created early openings, yet could not convert. Morgan Gibbs-White met an Elliot Anderson cross with a close-range header, but the Forest captain sent the effort into the side netting when many inside the stadium expected the ball to curl inside the post.

The best first-half opportunity arrived later from a devastating counter. Callum Hudson-Odoi led a six-on-one break, carrying Forest forward with numbers spare, yet Lorenzo Lucca fired over from inside the penalty area, wasting a situation that appeared almost certain to produce the opening goal.

Frustration grew among home supporters, who booed Forest off at half-time after so many wasted openings. Early in the second half, Dyche’s team almost responded when Morato met Omari Hutchinson’s delivery, but the defender’s glancing header drifted beyond the far post, with Sa beaten but untroubled again.

As the match moved into the closing stages, Forest increased the tempo and Wolves dropped deeper. With 14 minutes left, Jose Sa produced two close-range stops in quick succession, first blocking from Igor Jesus before scrambling across the line to claw away Morato’s follow-up effort that seemed destined for the net.

Rob Edwards’ Wolves, sitting bottom and seen as underdogs, nearly stole all three points in added time. A rare late attack ended with Mateus Mane bearing down on goal, yet Stefan Ortega stood firm, denying the forward and ensuring Forest at least avoided a damaging home defeat in this Premier League fixture.

Before kick-off, Edwards had stressed that pressure rested on Forest, not Wolves, because of the sizeable gap to Premier League safety. That outlook appeared to free the visitors, who defended in numbers, slowed the tempo when possible, and accepted a point that slightly improves their position while keeping Forest anxious.

Forest’s attacking numbers underlined their wastefulness. Their 35 shots generated an expected goals figure of 2.73, the highest total for a team failing to score in a Premier League game since Manchester United recorded 38 attempts in a 0-0 draw with Burnley in October 2016, highlighting the scale of Forest’s missed opportunity.

Wolves relied heavily on Sa, who made 10 saves. It was only the fourth occasion a Wolves goalkeeper has reached double figures in Premier League saves in one match, matching Paul Jones against Middlesbrough in April 2004 and Wayne Hennessey versus Liverpool in January 2012, while Sa himself made 11 against Liverpool in May 2024.

The defensive display also ended a long poor sequence for Wolves away from home. Edwards’ team finally secured a clean sheet on their travels after 14 Premier League away matches without one, and this 0-0 draw marked their first goalless league game on the road since January 2024, when they drew at Brighton.