The high-quality relegation battle more like a title race

By beating Chelsea 3-1 at Stamford Bridge on Monday, Nottingham Forest extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to seven matches. It moved them six points clear of 18th-placed West Ham , and restored their five-point advantage over Spurs in 17th. Although not confirmed mathematically, the three points should be enough to seal Forest's place in the Premier League next season. After a season marred by three managerial changes at the City Ground, Forest will be indebted to Vitor Pereira if survival is achieved. Since replacing Sean Dyche in February, the 57-year-old has lost only two of his nine Premier League matches in charge. Pereira's side are unbeaten in matches against Manchester City , Tottenham , Aston Villa , Sunderland and Chelsea . In their past three games, Forest have remarkably scored 12 times and conceded just twice to improve their goal difference from -12 to -2. It could effectively act as an extra point at the end of the season. Spurs, on the other hand, followed up a first Premier League win of 2026 last week by earning a vital victory against a much-changed Aston Villa side on Sunday night. After three matchdays in the relegation zone, the win meant Spurs, last season's Europa League winners, climbed out of the bottom three and leapfrogged West Ham . Speaking on Monday Night Club, former Manchester City and Newcastle United goalkeeper Shay Given said: "It's so tight now. It's between two, realistically. The rest are home and dry. …