Everton v Nott'm Forest

Born on a hockey night out, Forest predate the Football League by more than twenty years.

A group of shinny players (a form of hockey) at the Clinton Arms in Nottingham decided to switch to the association football code. Nottingham Forest Football Club was born, predating the Football League itself by over two decades. They played their early matches on the Forest Recreation Ground, the open parkland that gave the club its name.

Born in a chapel, bound for greatness; Everton's founders had no idea they were building a Football League cornerstone.

The club that would become Everton was established by the congregation of St Domingo's Methodist Chapel in the Everton district of Liverpool. They adopted the name Everton FC in 1879 and quickly became one of the dominant forces in early English football, joining the Football League as a founding member in 1888.

Goodison was England's first purpose-built football ground; a fitting stage for a rivalry just finding its feet.

After a dispute over rent at Anfield, Everton relocated across Stanley Park to Goodison Park, which became the first major purpose-built football ground in England. Nottingham Forest had joined the Football League in 1892, and the two clubs began their regular competitive meetings. Both were established First Division sides by the turn of the century.

Five titles and a war; Everton's 1939 triumph was frozen in time before anyone could challenge it.

Everton claimed the First Division championship in 1938-39, their fifth league title, with a squad featuring Tommy Lawton and Joe Mercer. Forest, meanwhile, spent much of the interwar period fluctuating between divisions. The Second World War then suspended league football for seven years, freezing both clubs' trajectories.

Second Division to champions in three seasons; Clough's Forest made the impossible look routine.

Brian Clough arrived at the City Ground in 1975 and transformed a Second Division side into league champions within three years. Forest won the First Division title in 1977-78, just a season after promotion. It remains one of the most remarkable achievements in English football history. Everton finished third that season, close witnesses to Clough's miracle.

Two European Cups in as many years; a provincial club had quietly rewritten football's grandest story.

Nottingham Forest followed their league title with consecutive European Cup triumphs in 1979 and 1980, beating Malmö and Hamburg respectively. It was an astonishing feat for a provincial club. Everton, meanwhile, were in a transitional period, but Howard Kendall's appointment as manager in 1981 would soon spark their own golden era.

Howard Kendall's 1984-85 Everton, arguably the finest side in the club's history, claimed the First Division title and the Cup Winners' Cup.

Howard Kendall's Everton were magnificent in 1984-85, winning the First Division title and the European Cup Winners' Cup. The side featuring Neville Southall, Peter Reid, and Andy Gray was arguably the finest in the club's history. Fixtures against Forest during this period were top-of-the-table affairs, with both clubs regularly competing in the upper reaches of the First Division.

Twenty-three years without a top-flight meeting; Forest even slipped as far as the third tier before finding their way back.

Nottingham Forest's relegation from the Premier League in 1999 ended a fixture that had been a regular feature of the English top flight. Forest would not return for 23 years, spending time in the Championship and even dropping to League One in 2005. Everton, by contrast, maintained their ever-present status in the top division, though silverware proved elusive.

Twenty-three years in the wilderness, then straight back into battle with Everton.

Steve Cooper guided Nottingham Forest back to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs in 2022, ending their 23-year exile from the top flight. The fixture with Everton was immediately restored, and the two clubs found themselves in similar positions: fighting to establish themselves in the division. Forest's return brought the City Ground back to life and renewed old rivalries across the league.

One hundred and thirty-three years of history; Goodison's farewell season ends at the waterfront.

The 2024-25 season marks Everton's final campaign at Goodison Park, their home for 133 years. The club will move to the new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock on Liverpool's waterfront, a 52,888-capacity ground that represents the most significant change in the club's modern history. Fixtures against Forest at Goodison carry an added weight of occasion as fans say farewell to the old ground.