Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth preview, prediction, and h2h: Cherries eye perfect Iraola send-off

The Premier League season reaches its conclusion on Sunday, May 24, 2026, and while Nottingham Forest can celebrate a job well done at the City Ground, it is their visitors who carry the weight of history into this final afternoon, Afrik Foot reports.

Bournemouth arrive in Nottingham already guaranteed a top-seven finish and a place in European football for the first time in the club’s 127-year history, having secured at least a Europa League berth heading into the final day.

There is, however, a scenario in which the Europa League is upgraded to the Champions League: should Aston Villa drop below Liverpool in the final standings after winning the Europa League, the sixth-place European Performance Spot would fall to Bournemouth, giving Andoni Iraola’s side a farewell present for their departing head coach that few could have imagined when the season began.

Survival and miracles at the City Ground

Nottingham Forest’s 2025-26 Premier League campaign will be remembered primarily for four things: four coaches, a Europa League semi-final run, a survival fight that went to the final weeks, and the miraculous return of Awoniyi from a near-fatal abdominal injury.

The club changed coaches three times before settling on Vítor Pereira in February 2026, and Pereira’s arrival transformed the club’s form, guiding them clear of relegation with an eight-game unbeaten run that ended speculation about their top-flight future.

The Europa League adventure, which took Forest all the way to a semi-final where Aston Villa beat them 4-1 on aggregate, represented the club’s first continental football since 1995-96 and provided some of the most memorable nights the City Ground has seen in a generation.

Bournemouth’s season, by contrast, has written one of the Premier League’s genuine stories of the 2025/2026 season.

The Cherries extended their unbeaten league run to 17 matches when they drew 1-1 with Manchester City at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday, with Eli Junior Kroupi scoring the record-breaking goal that made him the highest-scoring teenager in a debut Premier League season, surpassing the marks set by Robbie Fowler and Robbie Keane.

That draw was Iraola’s final home game as Bournemouth head coach, and the Spanish manager received a rousing send-off from a Vitality Stadium crowd that understands it has witnessed something genuinely special across his three years on the south coast.

Nottingham Forest vs Bournemouth: Head-to-Head Record

The head-to-head record between these clubs in their 16 Premier League meetings shows Bournemouth winning eight, Forest three and five draws, a balance that reflects a rivalry in which the Cherries have consistently been the dominant force since both clubs returned to the top flight.

Bournemouth are unbeaten in their last nine meetings with Forest in league competitions, a run that stretches back to a 2-1 defeat in the Championship in 2015.

The reverse fixture this season told the story of that imbalance with particular clarity.

Bournemouth beat Forest 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium on October 26, 2025, with Marcus Tavernier opening the scoring in the 25th minute and Kroupi doubling the advantage 15 minutes later, with the victory arriving on Sean Dyche’s first game as Forest head coach.

Team News

Nottingham Forest

Vítor Pereira is without three players through injury: Willy Boly, Nicolò Savona and Callum Hudson-Odoi all remain sidelined and will not feature on Sunday.

Morgan Gibbs-White, who has registered 18 goal involvements across the 2025-26 league campaign and is undeniably Forest’s most important creative force, is expected to start.

Elliott Anderson is also expected to feature and could make his last appearance for the club, with the midfielder attracting interest from Manchester United and Manchester City ahead of the transfer window.

Awoniyi, the Super Eagles striker and one of the most emotionally significant players in Premier League football this season, is expected to lead the attack in what will be a farewell occasion for all connected to the club’s extraordinary year.

Ola Aina, the Super Eagles right back who has been a consistent performer for Forest throughout the campaign, is back from a knock and should be fit enough to make the squad.

Predicted Nottingham Forest XI (4-4-2): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Morato, Netz; Hutchinson, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White; Awoniyi, Igor Jesus.

Bournemouth

Andoni Iraola has a full squad available for the trip to Nottingham, with no significant injury absences confirmed ahead of Sunday’s finale.

Evanilson, the Brazilian striker, partners Kroupi in Iraola’s attack, and Alex Scott and Tyler Adams provide the defensive midfield platform that has allowed Bournemouth’s wider players to work freely throughout the campaign.

Marcus Tavernier scored in the reverse fixture and will provide the primary creative link from the right, while Adrien Truffert’s delivery from the left has been one of the most reliable sources of attacking supply in the Cherries’ system.

Brazilian teenager Rayan, named in his country’s World Cup squad earlier this week, offers a direct option from the left flank and will be eager to contribute on what is a landmark final day for the club.

Predicted Bournemouth XI (4-2-3-1): Petrovic; Smith, Senesi, Hill, Truffert; Adams, Scott; Tavernier, Kroupi, Rayan; Evanilson.