Former England international Gary Lineker has compared Nottingham Forest, Ola Aina’s team’s current Premier League campaign, to Leicester City’s remarkable 2015-16 title-winning season.
Forest has emerged as the surprise package this season, transitioning from relegation battlers in the past two campaigns to genuine top-four contenders.
The Tricky Trees currently sit fourth in the league standings with 31 points, eight behind leaders Liverpool. Their impressive rise has sparked speculation about the possibility of another underdog triumphing against the odds.
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Ola Aina, Lineker dreams Liecester feat for Forest
Some suggest that Nuno Espírito Santo’s side could even go on to win the Premier League, with Ola Aina expressing optimism about the team’s potential to achieve this feat.
Ex-Leicester City striker Lineker, while not ruling out Forest’s chances, has highlighted the parallels between their style of play and that of his former team during their shock league win nine seasons ago.
“I see similarities with the way Leicester won the league. I’m not saying Forest will win the league, but it’s a similar style of play,” he told the Nottingham Post.
Echoing Lineker’s sentiments, Match of the Day pundit Ashley Williams praised the overachievers for their approach this season.
He said,
“I think it plays into the way that Nuno sets them up. They’re so comfortable without the ball. They’ve got a strong spine in the team. They don’t need to dominate possession, but when they win the ball back, they move it forward quickly and with purpose.
”They don’t always have the ball, but as soon as they get it, they’ve got one thing on their mind.”
Since Leicester’s title-winning campaign, only Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool have claimed the Premier League trophy. Seeing another outsider clinch the title this season would be a remarkable story.
