Many pundits and fans have argued that this has been an unmemorable Premier League season. They can point to the fact that Liverpool effectively wrapped up the title in February and that there has barely been any drama in the battle to avoid relegation, with the three promoted teams Southampton, Leicester City and Ipswich heading straight back down. The fact that the race for Champions League qualification is the only thing of intrigue says it all, according to the naysayers.
But one team have provided an antidote to the boredom: Nottingham Forest. Having flirted with relegation in their first two seasons back in the Premier League after a 23-year absence, the Tricky Trees' campaign has been nothing short of remarkable. Back in August bookmaker BetFred predicted they would finish 18th in the table, offering odds of 11/4 of them being relegated. The idea they could challenge for the top-six was laughable, priced at 50/1. Top-four was even more outlandish, priced at 100/1.
But Nuno Espirito's side have defied the bookies and doubters all season and, in January at least, repeating Leicester City's incredible title win of 2016 was genuinely possible. In the end their title hopes proved fanciful but they are still on track to finish fourth and qualify for the Champions League for the first time since they won the competition - then known as the European Cup - in successive seasons in 1979 and 1980.
And on Sunday they are looking forward to their first FA Cup semi-final in 34 years, when they take on Manchester City. Forest's stunning success has been a collective triumph, with the likes of Nikola Milenkovic, Anthony Elanga and Chris Wood coming to the fore and having their best ever seasons. But one man has attracted more attention than anyone else ahead of Sunday's Wembley showdown: Morgan Gibbs-White, who is being tipped to sign for City in the summer as the heir to Kevin De Bruyne...
