Nottingham Forest 3-0 West Ham: Wood fires again as visitors get hammered

Nottingham Forest recorded a third successive Premier League win as in-form striker Chris Wood inspired them to a 3-0 thrashing of 10-man West Ham at the City Ground.

Wood headed home for his sixth goal in his last six Premier League games midway through the first half, before Julen Lopeteui’s visitors saw Edson Alvarez sent off.

Playing the second half with 10 men, the Hammers’ woes were compounded by further goals from Callum Hudson-Odoi and Ola Aina as Forest stretched their unbeaten run to four top-flight matches.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men leapfrogged Arsenal into third place in the table following the Gunners’ 1-0 defeat to Newcastle United earlier on Saturday.

West Ham, meanwhile, slip to 14th with 11 points from 10 matches, having failed to build on last week’s victory over Manchester United.

INCREDIBLE @NFFC win big and move up to 3rd in the Premier League table!#NFOWHU pic.twitter.com/9QsUPYzzPo

— Premier League (@premierleague) November 2, 2024

Data Debrief: Yates powers Forest engine as Wood closes in on club record

Wood’s eye-catching form for Forest will be the main story for the home fans as they file away from the City Ground but captain Ryan Yates turned in a superb display at the heart of the hosts’ midfield.

His quick thinking from a free-kick allowed Hudson-Odoi to curl home a vital second goal, to effectively take the game away from West Ham in the closing stages, and his work rate and leadership kept Forest on task as the clock ticked towards full-time.

Alongside an assist, Yates made 57 passes in the game – more than any other Forest player – with his 74 touches ranking behind only Alex Moreno, on 80, of his team-mates.

Wood, meanwhile, is now on 23 Premier League goals for Forest, which ranks behind only Bryan Roy (24) for the most goals for the club in the competition.

The New Zealander has netted in four consecutive Premier League games, his joint-longest scoring run in the division, while he has scored more goals against West Ham (eight) in the competition than he has against any other side.