Premier League 2022-23 preview No 16: Nottingham Forest

Guardian writers’ predicted position 15th (NB: this is not necessarily Will Unwin’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position 4th (Championship)

Odds to win the league (via Oddschecker) 1,000-1

The owners have big ambitions, especially after shelling out heftily on players over the summer, but the reality is that the Premier League is a huge jump for any club, regardless of investment levels. Evangelos Marinakis spoke of going for trophies after securing promotion but the club will, ultimately, be happy if they finish 17th.

They certainly have the players to go a few places higher but it could take a little while for the team to gel into a unit considering the overturn in playing staff. They lost a number of the promotion squad including the popular goalkeeper Brice Samba, who was allowed to leave and replaced by Dean Henderson, while club captain Lewis Grabban decided against signing a new contract.

Recruitment has been precise to give Steve Cooper the resources he demands to make his team competitive in a division that is new to the majority of his players. Jesse Lingard was signed to make a statement and add experience. It is a young side, which should help with fearlessness at the top level but might mean they lack the nous required to get through the tough moments and how will they react if they go on a poor run, not something they experienced under Cooper last season.

They will look to be aggressive and press constantly to make sure no one, regardless of stature, takes points off them easily over the course of the campaign. The City Ground has received an upgrade over the summer and the club will be hoping it will be where they pick up the majority of their points on the way to safety.