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Brighton aim to build on a rare league win when Nottingham Forest visit the Amex Stadium, with Lewis Dunk playing down talk of a European push and stressing the need for greater fight as both clubs try to move away from the relegation battle in a tightly packed Premier League mid-table.
Forest arrive with confidence from advancing in Europe yet also carry concern after sliding towards the bottom three, while Brighton have just ended a long winless stretch in the league; statistical models lean towards a home victory, but both sides show clear strengths and weaknesses that shape expectations for this key fixture.
Dunk is not willing to set Europe as a public objective, despite Brighton sitting only six points behind seventh-placed Brentford; Brighton currently occupy 14th place and hold a nine-point cushion above the relegation line, yet Dunk believes attitude matters more than the table during the closing phase of the campaign.
Reflecting on the 2-0 win over Brentford that eased some pressure on head coach Fabian Hurzeler, Dunk explains the standard Brighton must keep, telling BBC Radio Sussex: “I just want to see what we’ve seen in the last game. The fight in us, the clean sheet, the way we defended, the hunger in us.”
Dunk feels that level of commitment will define Brighton’s finishing position, adding: “I think if we’ve got that in us, then I think we’ll be more than happy with where we finish. People talk about targets and where we want to finish and Europe, and this and that. Yes, you can say it, but I don’t get why we would when, really, we have to go game-by-game.”
Dunk, who played in Brighton’s Europa League campaign in 2023-24, still values that journey yet refuses to promise another qualification, saying: “That’s how I look at football. Everyone would love to finish in Europe. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience [in the Europa League in 2023-24], but it’s the Premier League and the Premier League is not easy. I’m not going to sit here and say we want to be in Europe again; we’ll just see where we end up.”
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest focus as Forest balance Europe and survival
Nottingham Forest approach this match after edging into the Europa League last 16, having relied on a 3-0 first-leg victory over Fenerbahce to progress on aggregate following a 2-1 defeat in Istanbul; that European effort contrasts sharply with their domestic situation, where Forest sit 17th, only two points above the drop zone.
The league table could look worse for Forest before kick-off if West Ham defeat Liverpool, and their attacking frustrations are clear; since Lorenzo Lucca scored at Elland Road against Leeds United, Forest have attempted 56 shots, registered 71 touches in the opposition box and produced 3.9 expected goals in Premier League action without finding the net.
Head coach Vitor Pereira insists Forest’s attacking process is sound despite that barren spell, pointing to their European tie for proof and stating: “In Istanbul, we scored three goals. We are creating the chances, and I believe that we can score the goals that we need to build our future.”
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest focus on key players and stats
Danny Welbeck is one goal short of reaching double figures in the Premier League this season, having already scored a personal-best 10 league goals in 2024-25; if Welbeck reaches 10 again in 2025-26, the forward will join a small group of players aged 33 or older to manage that feat in successive campaigns, most recently Jamie Vardy in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Elliot Anderson has become central to Forest’s work without the ball, leading all Premier League players this season in both possession won, with 232 recoveries, and duels won, with 223; Anderson is also the only English player on record since 2007-08 to average at least eight duels won, at 8.3, and regain possession eight times, at 8.6, per 90 minutes in one league season.
Brighton vs Nottingham Forest focus on prediction, form and set pieces
History in this fixture leans towards Brighton, who chase a league double over Forest for the fourth time after previously managing it in 1979-80, 2015-16 and 2023-24; Forest also have not won any of their last five league trips to Brighton, drawing twice and losing three times since a 3-2 Championship success in February 2015.
Brighton recently ended a six-match Premier League winless spell with that 2-0 victory against Brentford and now attempt to secure back-to-back league wins for the first time since November, when they defeated Brentford and Forest in consecutive outings; Forest’s attacking difficulties are clear, with only Wolves failing to score in more league games this season.
Forest have drawn blanks in 13 Premier League matches, including a 1-0 defeat against Liverpool in Pereira’s first league fixture in charge, which became the third occasion this season that Forest did not score under a new manager in an opening game; set-piece numbers underline further problems, with Forest conceding 19 such goals while scoring only eight.
{TABLE_1}
{TABLE_1} should show Opta’s win probability figures, which give Brighton a 56.7 per cent chance of victory, leave the draw at 22.4 per cent and rate Nottingham Forest’s prospects at 20.9 per cent, reflecting Brighton’s stronger underlying metrics, home advantage and Forest’s long-standing issues in both boxes this season.
Story first published: Saturday, February 28, 2026, 18:22 [IST]
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