Hat-trick for Kiwi Wood with Forest in seventh heaven

Prolific striker Chris Wood has scored a hat trick as Nottingham Forest routed Brighton 7-0 for the biggest-ever Premier League win for the unlikely title contenders.

Wood, the 33-year-old New Zealand international, took his tally to 17 goals in the best Premier League campaign of his late-blooming career on Saturday (Sunday AEDT).

Only Liverpool's Mohamed Salah (19) and Manchester City's Erling Haaland (18) have more goals this season.

Morgan Gibbs-White, Neco Williams and Jota Silva also scored after an own-goal by Lewis Dunk set the ball rolling at the City Ground for third-place Forest, the surprise team in the English top-flight this season who moved level on 47 points with second-place Arsenal.

This thrashing came a week after Forest had been beaten heavily themselves, 5-0 at Bournemouth.

"What a difference a week can make," Wood said. "Last week wasn't us. Today was definitely us."

Liverpool, six points clear having played two games fewer than Forest, were visiting in-form Bournemouth later.

Forest battled to avoid relegation last season but now have a great chance of qualifying for the Champions League, which would put the club back in Europe's elite — where they were a generation ago under the great manager Brian Clough when winning the European Cup in 1979 and 1980.