Nottingham Forest forward Chris Wood is currently enjoying one of his best seasons of Premier League football in terms of numbers.
A total of 12 goals have been scored in 1,281 minutes of top-flight football during 2023-24, a far cry from his indifferent efforts at previous club Newcastle United.
However, despite being on a four-game scoring streak, Wood is on course to be best remembered for producing one of the most astonishing misses in Premier League history against Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.
The 32-year-old had the goal at his mercy from less than three yards out, only to opt for power over placement and smash the ball against the post - it proved to be a costly miss.
Rather than Forest going 2-1 ahead after 35 minutes, they would ultimately go on to suffer a 3-1 defeat, a result that leaves Nuno Espirito Santo's side only above the bottom three on goal difference.
How has Chris Wood missed from there?! 😳 pic.twitter.com/0kebcMCm7P
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 7, 2024
Forest have some humongous fixtures to come in the form of relegation rivals Everton, Sheffield United and Burnley during the final six fixtures of the season.
With Manchester City and Chelsea their other opponents, it raises the stakes ahead of the showdown with Wolverhampton Wanderers - another of Nuno's former clubs - at the City Ground on Saturday.
The stats favour a Chris Wood goal against Wolves
On an individual note, Wood will be attempting to score in five successive Premier League matches for the first time in his career and the New Zealand international may feel that he could not have hand-picked better opponents.
Across 17 previous appearances against Wolves, Wood has contributed six goals and three assists while representing as many as six different clubs. However, the bulk of those efforts have come for one team.
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His best showing came during the 2020-21 campaign when he remarkably scored three goals and chipped in with an assist for the other strike in a 4-0 victory for Burnley at Molineux.
That remains his standout performance throughout his Premier League career, and he went through a five-game period for the Clarets and Newcastle against Wolves where he contributed six goals and one assist.
Despite only scoring his first goal against Wolves as recently as 2020, Wood is now only two goal and assist contributions short of his best record against a specific team throughout his career being versus the West Midlands outfit.
Furthermore, Wood has only ever lost two matches in 17 outings against Wolves. The first was at the back-end of the 2016-17 Championship campaign when Leeds United lost 1-0 at Elland Road, and the other was in 2018-19 when Burnley lost by the same scoreline at Molineux.
As a result, it means that Wood is now on a nine-match unbeaten streak against Wolves, contributing to four wins and five draws since March 30, 2019.
Darren Plant
