Two clubs that could only be separated by one place in the 2023-24 Premier League table reunite in Saturday's FA Cup third-round battle, where Nottingham Forest square up to Luton Town at the City Ground.
While the Tricky Trees have only been looking upwards since narrowly avoiding relegation last term, the Hatters are fighting an uphill struggle to even salvage their Championship status for 2025-26 and recently parted company with head coach Rob Edwards.
Match preview
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Threatening to repeat the Leicester City miracle of 2015-16, Nuno Espirito Santo's scintillating Forest side may very well have forced their way into the Premier League title conversation when they made it six wins on the spin at their manager's former stomping ground on Monday.
Santo was not the only Garibaldi man returning to face his old employers at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux base, where Morgan Gibbs-White responded to the home crowd's jeers with a seventh-minute opener before Chris Wood and Taiwo Awoniyi made the scoreline more emphatic.
Leaving Chelsea, Newcastle United and Manchester City in their wake, Forest have already hit the 40-point mark in the top flight this season and are only behind second-placed Arsenal on goal difference, although runaway leaders Liverpool hold a six-point advantage at the summit with a game in hand.
Champions League football at the City Ground is a distinct possibility for 2025-26, but in Forest's current fabulous form, Santo's men should not be washing their hands of the FA Cup, a tournament that the club last won in 1959 and last reached the final in back in 1991.
The Tricky Trees have not emerged victorious from any of their last five FA Cup showdowns on home territory, but such historical failures should pale into insignificance when their ongoing six-game winning run and four-match sequence of successive clean sheets is taken into account.
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A mere six points was the difference between Forest staying up and Luton being sent down to the second tier last season, but a mammoth 38 places now separate the Champions League-chasing hosts and relegation-threatened Hatters in the English football pyramid.
Rather than challenge for an immediate promotion back to the big time, the visitors have serious work to do to avoid the drop to League One for 2025-26 and head to the City Ground on the back of a disheartening fourth straight defeat in the Championship.
After being seen off by Bristol City, Swansea City and Norwich City, the Hatters succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to Queens Park Rangers in Monday's Loftus Road battle, leaving them 20th in the table and only two points ahead of 22nd-placed Hull City and 23rd-placed Cardiff City, who have a game in hand.
Following reports that promotion-winning boss Edwards would be leaving his position in the wake of their most recent loss, Luton confirmed the 42-year-old's exit on Thursday afternoon with a heartfelt statement; CEO Gary Sweet said that Edwards achieved "legendary status" at Kenilworth Road.
Not since the 2019-20 campaign have the Hatters lost at this stage of the FA Cup, though, and they held Forest to a pair of stalemates in the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, another positive omen for what will be the first game of the post-Edwards era.
Team News
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Key to Forest's success in 2024-25 has been a near-empty treatment room for most of the campaign, and Santo is only expected to be missing long-term absentees Danilo (ankle) and Ibrahim Sangare (hamstring) for Saturday's battle with the Hatters.
Changes will certainly be in store for the hosts, whose attack should be spearheaded by Awoniyi after the ex-Liverpool man opened his Premier League account for the season at Molineux; 12-goal Wood should therefore enjoy a hard-earned rest.
Santo may also be tempted to start gigantic goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, the 6ft 8in Brazilian who has only featured in the EFL Cup for the Tricky Trees so far, as well as fringe trio Willy Boly, James Ward-Prowse and Ramon Sosa.
Meanwhile, Luton have confirmed that Paul Trollope and Richie Kyle will be taking charge of Saturday's showdown while they work to appoint a new permanent boss, and the pair will be missing Reece Burke (hip), Teden Mengi (knee), Alfie Doughty (knock), Shandon Baptiste (calf) and captain Tom Lockyer for the contest.
The latter was making great strides in his recovery from his distressing cardiac arrest, only to suffer an ankle injury in training last month, but the visitors did not pick up any fresh concerns in their defeat to QPR.
Regular number nine Elijah Adebayo was demoted to the bench for that contest - just the third Championship game this season he has failed to start - but the 6ft 4in striker ought to come back in for Saturday's tie, either in place of or alongside Carlton Morris.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Miguel; Aina, Boly, Morato, Moreno; Yates, Anderson; Jota, Ward-Prowse, Sosa; Awoniyi
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Krul; Anderson, Holmes, McGuinness; Hashioka, Mpanzu, Nakamba, Bell; Chong; Morris, Adebayo
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Luton Town
It will be fascinating to see whether Santo opts to go strong or rotate his resources for the visit of Luton, but regardless of what team Forest field, Luton should be heading home disappointed.
The Hatters are in disarray on the field, and even if Trollope and Kyle can provide any sort of new manager bounce, the Premier League surprise package should enjoy safe passage into round four.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Ben Knapton
