Nottingham Forest are sitting down in 14th after the first three rounds of fixtures in the Premier League season, having narrowly avoided an immediate return to the Championship in 2022-23. Steve Cooper's men lost 2-1 at Arsenal on the opening weekend, and although they bounced back with a home win over newly-promoted Sheffield United, Manchester United brought them crashing back down to earth on Saturday.
United came back from two goals down to beat Forest 3-2 at Old Trafford, making their numerical advantage count following Joe Worrall's 67th-minute red card. It won't get any easier for the Reds either, with games against Chelsea and Manchester City on the cards in September.
But there is still plenty of cause for optimism at the City Ground - mainly because of the form of Taiwo Awoniyi. The 26-year-old has three goals from three games this term, while if we continue his run from the end of the last season, he has netted nine in seven, scoring in each one of those games. There are few better instinctive finishers in English football right now.
Fitness struggles restricted Awoniyi's impact in his debut campaign at Forest, but he now looks primed and ready to help them push for a mid-table berth. It's been a remarkable journey for a man whose career in English football looked all but over when he was sold by Liverpool just two years ago.