Nottingham Forest's elation at reaching a first European semi-final since 1984 will be short-lived if they don't follow it by putting points on the board against second-bottom Burnley at the City Ground on Sunday (14:00 GMT).
Forest could yet be felled
Vitor Pereira's side set up an all-English Europa League last four clash against Aston Villa with a tense 1-0 win over Porto on Thursday – the Portuguese head coach's first home win in six attempts since he was appointed on 15 February.
The prospect of relegation on the domestic front, however, is still a very real one. The Reds, currently 16th, could find themselves in the relegation zone by Sunday night if they lose and West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur both win.
An impotent Forest attack has registered just 14 goals in 16 home league games this season, failing to find the net in five of their last seven. It's their lowest goals-per-game record at home (0.88) in a league season since 1996-97 (0.79).
Elliot Anderson missed the win over Porto due to the death of his mother, Helen, and it remains to be seen if the England star will be available for selection. Pereira told reporters after the game: "We are here to help him and we will see if he can play the next game."
The Tricky Trees, who are unbeaten in six in all competitions, could do with his industry in midfield in a game like this. Anderson has won possession 10 or more times in 10 Premier League games this season; the most in Europe's big five leagues in 2025-26 and more than three times as often as any of his opponents in this country.
Clarets sinking
With just one win in their past 23 league games – against Crystal Palace on 11 February – it has been a miserable campaign for Burnley.
The Clarets, facing their third relegation from the top flight in five seasons, are this decade's best example of a Premier League yo-yo club; too good for the Championship but unable to cut it in the top tier.
Unlike bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, 19th-placed Burnley's relegation cannot be confirmed this weekend and head coach Scott Parker has pledged that his team will "keep fighting between now and the end of the season".
They've conceded 63 goals, the most in the division, which is perhaps no surprise when you look at some of their related defensive numbers.
Twinned with those defensive struggles has been a similarly tough time in front of goal. While they aren't the lowest scorers in the league – Wolves and Forest are both worse off in that regard – Burnley have managed the fewest shots of any side, with 297 (an average of 9.3 per game).
Among teams to have played 30 or more games under a single manager since such records began in 2003-04, Scott Parker's Burnley have had the joint-fewest attempts of any team under one boss, along with Paul Clement's Swansea City and Chris Wilder's Sheffield United.
