Nottingham Forest had won two games in a row in the league. After beating Chelsea, they beat Middlesbrough on away. It was as if they had heard the motivating command and had greatly stepped up. Perhaps every step wasn't so steady. There was some fatigue and pain, but they were still progressive steps, nevertheless. They also climbed to being third in the rankings. Ranking between them and Arsenal was only Liverpool.
Then, on April 2, Nottingham Forest hosted Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals at home. Nottingham Forest would play Arsenal three times in a row in the next week: two rounds in the Champions League as well as a league game. This week would be a crucial week to decide what Nottingham Forest could achieve this season. The media had hurriedly played out "the final battle" as the hot discussion title.
