Nottingham Forest coughed up a precious two points at home on Sunday, as local rivals Leicester City fought back to draw 2-2 late on as they dented Forest’s hopes of qualifying for the Champions League.
Forest have qualified for Europe, but they don’t know which competition and they are now one point outside the top five with two games to go. There were ugly scenes at the full time whistle as Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis was on the pitch and looked to be having a heated discussion with manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
MORE — Watch full replay
During the game Conor Coady put Leicester ahead but Forest came roaring back with Morgan Gibbs-White heading home before half time, then he set up Chris Wood to head home early in the second half.
But Leicester loved the role of spoilers and Jamie Vardy set up Facundo Buonanotte to finish superbly and make it 2-2, as the Foxes almost won it late on.
With the point Nottingham Forest are on 62 points with two games to go. Leicester are on 22 points and remain in 19th place.
Nottingham Forest vs Leicester score: 2-2
Gibbs-White 26′, Wood 56′; Coady 16′, Buonanotte 82′
Nottingham Forest vs Leicester live updates! — By Joe Prince-Wright
Jeremy Monga, Kristiansen almost wins it late on!
The 15-year-old has been really bright since he came on. First he whips a shot just wide, then he drills one on target which Sels pushes away. Brilliant from the youngster. Another sub Kristiansen almost heads home at the back post. It’s all Leicester!
Buonanotte with a lovely finish! — Nottingham Forest 2-2 Leicester
Vardy flicks it around the corner for Facundo Buonanotte and he is in the box. He has plenty to do but takes it around a defender and calmly dinks home. Leicester are level! Forest’s fans can’t believe it. Just a few minutes to go.
Leicester pushing hard for an equalizer
Aina leaves a looping ball for Sels and the goalkeeper is late to come out. McAteer almost gets on the end of it. It’s getting a bit nervous late on.
Wood heads home! — Nottingham Forest 2-1 Leicester
Chris Wood with a diving header at the back post and he finishes clinically. What a header. What a cross from Gibbs-White. That is Wood’s 20th Premier League goal for Forest this season and that is a huge moment in their push for Champions League qualification.
Wood’s diving header gives Forest 2-1 lead
Morgan Gibbs-White’s cross finds a diving Chris Wood for a spectacular finish to send the City Ground into hysterics.
Dominguez goes close again
He’s had a couple of big chances today and Dominguez is denied from close range this time. Forest pushing hard.
Half time: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leicester
Nervous first half from Forest but they’re level. They’ve had some big chances but fell behind and Leicester look dangerous from set pieces. The Foxes are making this very tough for their bitter rivals.
Wood heads wide after Dominguez denied
Nicolas Dominiguez smashes a shot on goal which is saved, then Wood can’t direct his header on target from the rebound. Forest pushing hard to go ahead before the break.
Gibbs-White heads home! — Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leicester
Huge roar inside the City Ground. Elanga’s free kick from the right is whipped into the near post and Morgan Gibbs-White is there to flick home a header. Huge moment for Forest. We are level!
Gibbs-White equalizes for Forest against Leicester
Anthony Elanga’s free-kick finds the head of Morgan Gibbs-White inside the box to bring Nottingham Forest back to level terms against Leicester City.
Long-throw causes chaos and Coady finishes! — Nottingham Forest 0-1 Leicester
Well then, the Foxes are ahead! El Khannouss fires a shot on goal after a long throw is knocked down. Sels pushes it out but Conor Coady is there to head home.
Coady gives Leicester shock lead over Forest
The City Ground is stunned as Conor Coady is the quickest to the loose ball inside the box and taps in Leicester City’s go-ahead goal over Nottingham Forest.
Wood goes close twice!
Wood hooks over and then sends a header over early. Forest with two big chances.
Nottingham Forest lineup
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Anderson, Sangare; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Dominguez; Wood
Leicester lineup
Stolarczyk; Justin, Faes, Coady, Thomas; Skipp, Ndidi; McAteer, Ayew, El Khannouss; Vardy
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
Forest have a big injury problem at center back with star Brazilian defender Murillo limping off in the draw at Palace. Callum Hudson-Odoi being out is a blow, with Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood carrying the attacking load up top. It feels like Morgan Gibbs-White needs to step up in this game, and the final few weeks, and match his levels from earlier in the season to help Forest have a chance of reaching the Champions League.
OUT: Callum Hudson-Odoi (thigh) | QUESTIONABLE: Murillo (thigh), Eric da Silva Moreira (ankle)
Leicester team news, focus
Leicester have a very settled lineup at this point and they were solid defensively against Southampton last weekend. Vardy’s farewell is going well and he seems fired up to finish strong as a Leicester player and the entire team are feeding him chances. Leicester will sit back, defend deep and hope to pick off Forest on the counter and that will lead to an intriguing game as both teams prefer to play this way.
OUT: Mads Hermansen (groin), Bobby De Cordova-Reid (muscular), Ricardo Pereira (muscular), Stephy Mavididi (muscular), Harry Winks (club discipline), Abdul Fatawu (knee – out for season) | QUESTIONABLE: Facundo Buonanotte (head)
Nottingham Forest vs Leicester prediction
All of the pressure is on Forest but it feels like they will respond well to it and blow Leicester away early. Nottingham Forest 3-1 Leicester.
Nottingham Forest vs Leicester preview
Nuno Espirito Santo’s Forest are limping towards the finish line with one win in their last five games in the Premier League. They drew 1-1 at Crystal Palace on Monday and are now in sixth place and out of the Champions League spots by two points with three games to go. Their final two games of the season are at West Ham and a potentially massive home game against Chelsea on the final day. That makes this home game against already-relegated Leicester so important as Forest have been up in the top five for most of this season and will be desperate to sneak back in and cap off a fairytale campaign with Champions League qualification.
As for Leicester, Ruud van Nistelrooy’s side won 2-0 at home against Southampton last weekend to boost their confidence as outgoing legendary striker Jamie Vardy scored his 199th goal for the club. You know he’s going to get to 200 in these final three games, and he’d love to do it when playing the role of spoiler away at Forest. In fact, everyone connected with Leicester would love to beat Forest to have bragging rights in the east Midlands and put a severe dent in their Champions League hopes.
How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Leicester live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9:15am ET Sunday (May 11)
Venue: City Ground — Nottingham
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com