Nottingham Forest travel to Fulham on Monday with momentum building under Sean Dyche, yet the head coach continues to stress caution despite recent results lifting the club five points clear of the Premier League relegation places.
Dyche has transformed Forest’s league form since arriving at the City Ground in October after Ange Postecoglou’s dismissal, winning four of eight Premier League fixtures and seven of 12 matches in all competitions, including last weekend’s 3-0 home victory over Tottenham.
Forest’s win against Tottenham, combined with West Ham’s defeat to Manchester City on Saturday, ensured that cushion to the bottom three stayed intact, yet Dyche underlined that no one at the club should relax or assume safety is close.
Speaking before
the Fulham trip, Dyche said: "It has been a case of 'so far so good', but it is just a 'so far' and there is still a lot of work to be done. I keep reminding the players about that. They [Fulham] are missing some key players through AFCON, but they are still a good outfit. There are no easy games in the Premier League. It is a very unforgiving league, and you've got to be right all the time. "
Looking ahead to our trip to Fulham.Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 18, 2025
Marco Silva’s Fulham approach this fixture after a demanding period, having played a midweek EFL Cup quarter-final at Craven Cottage, where a late Lewis Miley header gave Newcastle United a 2-1 victory and ended their cup run.
Silva quickly shifted focus back to the league, pointing to a 3-2 success away at Burnley that followed two straight defeats and restored confidence within the squad, while also giving Fulham consecutive away victories across competitions for the first time this season.
Silva told reporters: "We won at Burnley after two defeats, The reaction of the team was good. We got back-to-back away wins. Now we want to do our best to get back-to-back Premier League wins. It will be demanding. Let's hope we can end the year in a good way. "
Nottingham Forest vs Fulham: Team news and key absences
Fulham must cope without Rodrigo Muniz and Ryan Sessegnon, who are both ruled out for Monday’s contest, while several players are away on AFCON duty, adding further selection issues as Silva manages squad depth during a busy winter schedule.
There is more optimism regarding Raul Jimenez, with Silva indicating the striker could still feature, saying: "There's nothing to show that he won't be in contention," as Fulham assess fitness and manage workloads after the Newcastle defeat.
Nottingham Forest vs Fulham: Players to watch in Premier League clash
For Forest, Morgan Gibbs-White has become central to Dyche’s attacking approach, scoring four goals in the first six league matches under the new head coach and moving within three goals of matching a personal best season tally for the club since joining in summer 2022.
Fulham’s creative influence has often come from Harry Wilson, who has contributed to six goals in the last four Premier League appearances, with three goals and three assists, taking season involvement to eight goals and placing this campaign behind only 2023-24’s 10 contributions.
Nottingham Forest vs Fulham: Head-to-head record and home form
History favours Fulham in this fixture, with five wins from six Premier League meetings against Forest and victory in all three home matches, giving the London club an 83% win rate, the highest against any opponent faced more than twice in the competition.
Forest’s visits to Craven Cottage have been especially difficult, with three away league defeats by an aggregate 9-1 score, representing Forest’s worst perfect losing record on the road against any single Premier League side since returning to the division.
Nottingham Forest vs Fulham: Recent trends and Opta prediction
Despite that record, Fulham have struggled recently at Craven Cottage, losing the last two league home games to Manchester City and Crystal Palace, and have suffered three straight home defeats only once since promotion in August 2022, during a run between April and May last season.
Forest’s attacking output under Dyche shows clear improvement, with the team scoring at least three goals in three of eight league matches, equalling the number of such high-scoring performances Everton produced during Dyche’s final 49 Premier League games in charge there.
Nottingham Forest’s record in Monday fixtures has also shifted; after a 4-0 defeat to Leicester City in their first such game following promotion in 2022, Forest are now unbeaten in seven Monday league matches, winning four and drawing three across that period.
| Outcome | Opta win probability |
|---|---|
| Fulham | 44.4% |
| Draw | 26.8% |
| Nottingham Forest | 28.8% |
Across form, injuries, and historic data, Fulham enter as slight favourites, yet Forest’s recent improvement under Dyche and stronger results in Monday fixtures suggest a competitive contest, with both sides targeting a positive result to close out the year and strengthen their league position.
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