Huddersfield Town vs Nottingham Forest: Will Forest End Their 23-year Premier League Exodus?

Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest meet at Wembley in the Play-off Final this weekend.

The Terriers won their home leg of their Play-off Semi-final against Luton Town 1 - 0, to win the tie 2 - 1 after a 1 - 1 draw at Kenilworth Road.

Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest won the first leg of their Play-off Semi-final against Sheffield United 2 - 1 at Bramall Lane. But the second leg was a little more complicated. Sheffield United won 2 - 1 at the City Ground, sending the tie to penalties, where Forest prevailed 3 - 2.

Nottingham Forest were part of the inaugural Premier League season in 1992, but were relegated after finishing last with only 40 points. Though this stint outside of the Premier League was much shorter than the one to come, only one season where a second-place finish in the Championship saw Forest promoted back to the Premier League.

The longest Premier League spell for Nottingham Forest lasted three seasons. The first, the 1994/95 season, saw Forest earn their highest ever finish in the Premier League - an impressive third. Forest finished 12 points behind winners Blackburn Rovers and 11 points behind second-place Manchester United.

Another notable moment in the 1994/95 season was Forest’s 7 - 1 win over Sheffield Wednesday, their biggest Premier League win and the first time a Premier League side to score seven goals away from home.

However, the 1994/95 success was not replicated the following season. Forest finished ninth, with 58 points and 24 points adrift from Premier League Champions Manchester United.

The 1996/97 season saw Nottingham Forest relegated back to the Championship (Division One at the time). Forest finished rock bottom in 20th with 34 points, seven points adrift from safety. This relegation saw Forest spend another one-season stay in Division One, where they finished first, three points ahead of second-place Middlesbrough and were automatically promoted.

Forest in the 1998/99 season were once again relegated from the Premier League. This time they finished with even less points, 30, (partially due to the refusal of Pierre van Hooindonk to play), but still in 20th place and 11 points from safety. With this relegation, Nottingham Forest’s 23-year exodus from the top flight began.

For the next six seasons, Forest found themselves in Division One, with their highest ever placement being sixth, placing them in the last Play-off place. But, Forest didn’t make it to Wembley, losing 5 - 4 on aggregate to Sheffield United. However, their lowest placement in this six-season spell was 23rd which sealed Forest’s relegation to League One.

After three seasons in League One, that included another failed promotion push at the Semi-final stage of the Play-off. This time Forest had a 2 - 0 lead over Yeovil Town after the first leg, but in the second leg Yeovil won 5 - 2 leaving Forest for another year in the third tier of English football.

The 2007/08 season saw Forest return to the Championship, this time skipping any potential Play-off heartbreak by securing automatic promotion with a second-place finish in League One, ten points behind champions Swansea City.

Since this promotion back to the Championship, Nottingham Forest have been main-stays, being in the second division for 14 seasons. Before the 2021/22 season, Forest only made the Play-offs places twice back in 2010 and 2011, but missed out on promotion both times losing 6 - 4 to Blackpool and 3 - 1 to Swansea.

Huddersfield Town and Nottingham Forest have met 62 times in their history, the first meeting coming all the way back in 1911.

Nottingham Forest have won 20 of these encounters, drawn 17 and lost 25. But, despite Huddersfield having a better record against Forest, Forest have the biggest win in the fixture, a 6 - 1 win in the Championship back in 2013.

The two clubs have met three times in the 2021/22 season, twice in the Championship and once in the FA Cup.

The first clash, back in September ended with a 2 - 0 win for Forest, their first win of the Championship season and the end of a 13 match winless streak. A goal from Lewis Grabban and an own goal from Lee Nicholls sealed the win for Steve Cooper’s men.

However, Huddersfield won the return fixture. A goal from Duane Holmes secured a 1 - 0 win for The Terriers, which in December greatly strengthened their push for the Play-off places.

The final match-up between Forest and Huddersfield came in the FA Cup fifth round. Huddersfield opened the scoring, with a Tom Lees goal in the 13th minute. But Forest responded within the first half with goals from Sam Surridge and Ryan Yates.

Overall, at the end of the Championship season Huddersfield finished in third just two points ahead of Forest, with the same amount of wins, but two more draws and two fewer losses than Forest. Therefore, with the competition being so tight between the two clubs, this Play-off Final could be a close affair, but a definite chance for Forest to end their long absence from the top flight of English football.