Occupying opposite positions to what many perhaps expected at the start of the season, Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur lock horns in a Premier League Boxing Day battle at the City Ground.
Nuno Espirito Santo's men still have their Champions League destiny in their own hands approaching the halfway mark, solidifying a fourth-placed ranking in the Premier League table courtesy of a 2-0 win at Brentford last time out.
Meanwhile, Spurs are still languishing in the bottom half of the standings owing to their engrossing 6-3 loss to Liverpool on Sunday evening, which left them eight points behind Thursday's hosts.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
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Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 125
Nott'm Forest wins: 37
Draws: 29
Spurs wins: 59
A total of 125 battles have now been fought between Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest, the former of whom boast the head-to-head superiority with 59 successes compared to 37 for the former European Cup winners.
Tottenham have built up their healthy lead over Forest in the victories column over the past 25 years in particular, as the North London crop have prevailed in eight of their last 10 meetings in all competitions, only suffering one loss in that sequence.
That sole defeat came at the City Ground in the 2022-23 EFL Cup third round, as Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard condemned Spurs to another early elimination, but Tottenham have avenged that premature exit with three successive wins.
Ange Postecoglou's outfit did the double over Nuno Espirito Santo's team in the 2023-24 Premier League campaign, following up a 2-0 away triumph with a 3-1 victory at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the latter of which was their sixth straight top-flight success over Forest.
The Tricky Trees have to go as far back as the previous millennium for their last Premier League win over Spurs, a 1-0 victory at White Hart Lane in 1997 thanks to a Dean Saunders goal, which also marked their ninth consecutive unbeaten game against Tottenham before their powers waned.
Many a cup contest has also been played out between Nottingham Forest and Tottenham down the years, but none more momentous than the 1991 FA Cup final, where Spurs triumphed 2-1 over the Garibaldi to win the competition for the eighth time.
With a staggering 12 goals to his name for Tottenham against Nottingham Forest, the late Jimmy Greaves has at least twice as many goals as any other player in this fixture; ex-Spurs winger Cliff Jones is second on the list with six.
Last 20 meetings
Apr 07, 2024: Spurs 3-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Dec 15, 2023: Nott'm Forest 0-2 Spurs (Premier League)
Mar 11, 2023: Spurs 3-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Nov 09, 2022: Nott'm Forest 2-0 Spurs (EFL Cup Third Round)
Aug 28, 2022: Nott'm Forest 0-2 Spurs (Premier League)
Sep 24, 2014: Spurs 3-1 Nott'm Forest (League Cup Round Three)
Mar 02, 2005: Nott'm Forest 0-3 Spurs (FA Cup Fifth Round Replay)
Feb 20, 2005: Spurs 1-1 Nott'm Forest (FA Cup Fifth Round)
Apr 17, 1999: Nott'm Forest 0-1 Spurs (Premier League)
Nov 21, 1998: Spurs 2-0 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Mar 01, 1997: Spurs 0-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Jan 19, 1997: Nott'm Forest 2-1 Spurs (Premier League)
Apr 06, 1996: Nott'm Forest 2-1 Spurs (Premier League)
Mar 09, 1996: Spurs 1-1 Nott'm Forest (FA Cup Fifth Round Replay)
Feb 28, 1996: Nott'm Forest 2-2 Spurs (FA Cup Fifth Round)
Oct 14, 1995: Spurs 0-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Mar 04, 1995: Nott'm Forest 2-2 Spurs (Premier League)
Sep 24, 1994: Spurs 1-4 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Apr 12, 1993: Nott'm Forest 2-1 Spurs (Premier League)
Dec 28, 1992: Spurs 2-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Apr 07, 2024: Spurs 3-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Dec 15, 2023: Nott'm Forest 0-2 Spurs (Premier League)
Mar 11, 2023: Spurs 3-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Aug 28, 2022: Nott'm Forest 0-2 Spurs (Premier League)
Apr 17, 1999: Nott'm Forest 0-1 Spurs (Premier League)
Nov 21, 1998: Spurs 2-0 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Mar 01, 1997: Spurs 0-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
Jan 19, 1997: Nott'm Forest 2-1 Spurs (Premier League)
Apr 06, 1996: Nott'm Forest 2-1 Spurs (Premier League)
Oct 14, 1995: Spurs 0-1 Nott'm Forest (Premier League)
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Ben Knapton
