The Tactical Genius Behind Nottingham Forest's Champions League Push

Vito Pereira has transformed Nottingham Forest

This is an image showing Pereira's tactical setup at Forest. Attacking rotations mean his side can't stop scoring

his defensive setup sees them relentlessly press the opposition, and they've got one foot in a Europa League final

But this isn't just good form, it's a complete transformation. Now, how has he done it

Well, I'm Jacob Horsfall, 442's resident tactician. Today, we'll be breaking down exactly how Vito Pereira

has taken Nottingham forward from relegation to potential Champions League qualification. What a mental sentence

To understand Vito Pereira's impact with the tricky trees, we first got to look at how

adaptable him and the team have actually been. Typically, Forrest will sit in a 4-1-4-1 mid-block with a very, very narrow midfield

which means they can protect that central space. In this case, Tottenham dropped both of their central midfielders out of that midfield space

so they can actually get on the ball. But despite popular belief

Forrest don't just let the opposition have the ball and have a nice little kick about

They want to be proactive and step out of their block. So when one of those deeper midfielders receives the ball

the two ballside players jump to force the ball backwards. Being proactive in your mid-block can be seen as a risk

because stepping out creates space for the opposition to play in. But Forrest take that risk

because it can lead to them creating their own chances on the ball. Forrest will go man-to-man high up the pitch whenever possible

You see a sort of central diamond here to cut off the Burnley pivot player

The wide pass is also cut off whilst Elliot Anderson zonally covers space to allow Sangare

to commit high to follow the Burnley midfielder who's trying to receive from the back line

This forces the opposition into some really tricky scenarios. They can either fire through the lines and trust this midfielder to receive under pressure

and win that physical battle, or they can send it long. The problem with both them options is Forrest are physically dominant

so they will usually win that battle and turn the ball over. Only Arsenal and Brighton have won the ball in the attacking third more than them since Pereira's arrival

which has been almost a turning point for the Tricky Trees. They not necessarily the low block side that both Jaish and Nuno Espirito Santos would have wanted them to be but they also not style over substance like Ange Postacoglu is known for being Instead Vito Pereira has managed to balance that out risk with security impragmatism

If their aggressive press is broken due to their midfield not jumping quick enough

Vito Pereira has a little plan, a little trick up his sleeve to adapt

They'll drop in and go almost entirely zonal, often going man-to-man with just one central player

This means they can pressure the ball in groups to usher the opposition wide without giving up central space for the opposition to play into

Which is why they've not really given away too many high quality chances since Vito Pereira's arrival

In fact, they sit fifth for least shots conceded inside the box under their new gaffer

And that pressing in groups, making those midfield jumps at the right time are key to their defensive solidity

And funnily enough, those jumps, those patterns out of possession are almost mirroring their attacking play

They will regularly play on the halfway line in a 3-2, with one of the wide players opposite to the ball coming inside to pull the opposition's winger narrow

whilst the other Forrest's wide player is going high and wide into space

The return of Chris Wood has been huge for this, because he's formed a nice partnership with Igor Jesus

That partnership has allowed Forrest to pin the opposition's backline and force him to go man-to-man

whilst the ball side winger stretches the defence by going wide, leaving the small pockets of space in the opposition's block

Which are important. Don't worry, I'm going to tell you why they're important

Dominguez receives the ball and quickly plays wide to the winger, but he doesn't just stop here

He then makes a darting run between the opposition's fullback and centre-back, which opens up the lane for the cutback pass

so then Forrest can deliver from that half-space area into the box. And that's that quick movement from midfield

those quick jumps, the small side overloads. Well, that's why it looks like Forrest in these counter-attacking scenarios

almost all the time. Because those quick darts from midfield after the direct press-out wide

create small-sided overloads for them to play in, which frees up players elsewhere on the pitch

For example, just before this clip starts, Anderson had played the ball out wide and then slowly jogged forward

but he clocks Morgan Gibbs-White in an unfavorable position to actually receive the ball So he darts forward dragging Lukas Bergvau with him If we fast forward slightly Gibbs wandered himself into that space that Elliot Anderson vacated which means he can get the ball fired into him turn and then Nico Williams makes a

similar run to Elliot Anderson. He makes a darting under lap. That darting run pulls Archie Gray a

little bit deeper and also pulls Pedro Porro narrow. So when the ball goes wide, Tottenham

are now having to dart toward the ball once the Nottingham Forest wing has already received it

which when you have the dynamic wingers that Nottingham Forest do it's a massive benefit for them tricky trees

that's going to catch on because when that ball goes wide the Nottingham Forest wingers have the ability to hit the touchline and cut it back

cut inside and have a whipping at goal or just deliver into the box straight away

because they're so versatile so a fullback trying to come and meet them

once they've already got the ball well it isn't ideal however none of this is possible without these two players

Some would say the cogs of Vita Pereira's well-oiled machine. Before we get to that though, a quick one from me to tell you about our latest offer here at 442

where right now you can get up to 50% off on all of our magazine subscription plans

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completely free. On top of that, it comes with a World Cup wall chart and a free supplement as

well. So the link's in the description if you want to get on it. I don't know why you wouldn't, but for now, let's get back to Vito Pereira's cogs in his well-oiled machine. No Premier League

midfielder has completed more dribbles per 90 than Elliot Anderson this season. Now, a lot of that

is because he is, well, Elliot Anderson, the next £100m sale in the Premier League, but I do also

think Vito Pereira's system has bought into Elliot Anderson's ability in the dribble

Morgan Gibbs-White and Ibrahim Sangari both sit in Forrest's top 10 dribblers as well

as Elliot Anderson. The fact other central players are completing a high volume of dribbles, not just Elliot

Anderson, isn't a coincidence. Because 41 of Forrest football comes in the middle of the pitch the midfielders aren just tasked with running about to create space they also get the ball and carry it forward to suck the opposition in before playing wide

Which is why the Wings are home to 77% of their total attacks in the final third

But with all these things considered, there is one specific player who really epitomises

Vito Pereira's brilliance at Nottingham Forrest. Morgan Gibbs-White is absolutely incredible, ain't he

Under Pereira, Gibbswhite is averaging his most goal contributions of the season

Now, there's a few reasons for that. His last three heatmaps show no real pattern

His positioning is relatively fluid and he operates in so many different zones

At times, he's the narrow left winger who approaches Marca's blindside and utilises the two centre-forwards occupying the opposition's defence

to find space to use his box instincts. At other times, Gibbswhite's in a different role

and it's probably the role that he's most known for. Here he uses Forrest's wide right triangle that occupies Chelsea's man-to-man press to be that darting midfielder who breaks the opposition's defensive lines and creates once he's in behind the opposition's defence

And I suppose that's why he's doing so well. Yes, the start of the season wasn't great for Morgan Gibbs-White, but he still consistently finds situations for him to thrive in

Because he doesn't need a specific environment. but Vito Pereira's halfway line 3-2 build up

that gives Gibbs White the autonomy to just be a free little bird

does seem to get the best out of him whether it's him rotating with Elliot Anderson

swapping on the wings with Nico Williams or even crashing the box to score a hat-trick

in a six-point game for Nottingham Forest this sort of system that Vito Pereira has deployed

is squeezing every bit of talent out of Morgan Gibbs White in a positive way

and now Forest are safe from relegation potentially could win a European trophy

and are staring down at Champions League football next season. So I don't think it's ridiculous to say

that Vito Pereira has done a sensational job with the tricky trees

There's the nickname again. Because if you think I've done a sensational job with the 442 video this week

then please do leave a like and subscribe because again, we'll be back next week to offer you more tactical ysis

I've been Jacob Horsfall. This has been 442. And I'll see you all next week