Nottingham Forest and Tottenham Hotspur finished near neighbours last season -- 16th and 17th of 20 -- so rank alone splits nothing here. Against the block the other keeps: Nottingham Forest takes 1.69 points a game, Tottenham Hotspur 1.50 -- nothing between them.
Nottingham Forest: 40 league matches in the bank, 2 from this season and the rest from last season. Tottenham Hotspur: 40 league matches in the bank, 2 from this season and the rest from last season.
The question this step asks
Step one is THE TABLE: rank against rank, and the blocks -- the table cut into a top, middle and bottom block, drawn from last season's final standings. The question is not just where each side stands but how it behaves against the company the other keeps: does it play to rank against the blocks above and below, or come apart?
The two sides
Nottingham Forest -- at home
Where it stands
Stands 15th of 20 after 2 games, with 1 point -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 16th of 20 in this division.
Its block
By last season's final table it sits in the bottom block (14th to 20th). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 2 games old.
Against today's opponent's block
Today it faces a side from the bottom block (14th to 20th). Against that block it has won 6, drew 4, lost 3 of 13 -- 22 points of 39. At home against them: won 3 of 7. Away against them: won 3 of 6.
Across all the blocks
Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 1, drew 6, lost 6 of 13 (0.69 a game); against the middle block won 4, drew 2, lost 8 of 14 (1.00 a game); against the bottom block won 6, drew 4, lost 3 of 13 (1.69 a game).
Tottenham Hotspur -- away
Where it stands
Stands 19th of 20 after 2 games, with 0 points -- too few games yet to mean much. Last season it finished 17th of 20 in this division.
Its block
By last season's final table it sits in the bottom block (14th to 20th). Blocks are drawn from last season because the current table is only 2 games old.
Against today's opponent's block
Today it faces a side from the bottom block (14th to 20th). Against that block it has won 5, drew 3, lost 4 of 12 -- 18 points of 36. At home against them: won 1 of 6. Away against them: won 4 of 6.
Across all the blocks
Across the blocks, over the last two seasons: against the top block won 2, drew 3, lost 7 of 12 (0.75 a game); against the middle block won 3, drew 5, lost 8 of 16 (0.88 a game); against the bottom block won 5, drew 3, lost 4 of 12 (1.50 a game).
Built 22:08 from matches completed before
kick-off. Every figure is an observed count with its denominator —
not a forecast, and nothing here is a tip or a selection.