Michael Owen has "a funny feeling" about Nottingham Forest.
The club are just three games into their first campaign in the Premier League since the late '90s, after a successful promotion push from the Championship last season. And Owen said on The DAZN Soccer Show that of the three promoted teams, Forest are his sentimental choice to stay up.
"I've got a funny feeling about Forest," Owen said.
"That's a club, that's a city, that's just absolutely bouncing."
Forest earned a spot in the Premier League via the playoffs, joining Fulham and Bournemouth from the second tier. While the latter two clubs have bounced between the two divisions recently, Forest are getting their first taste of the top flight since 1999.
Owen hopes they stay there for a while longer.
"When I was growing up, they were a mainstay," the former England international said of the club that won back-to-back League Cups in 1989 and 1990 and were FA Cup runners-up in 1991.
"I mean, they were a club that when I grew up there was no question they were in the top league.
"And I think that that city is absolutely bouncing that they're back up now. So that's great and I think they might do OK, actually.
"It might be a struggle for Bournemouth and Fulham but I don't know, I hope Forest do quite well."
Despite having a sentimental favourite in the anticipated relegation battle at the end of the 2022/23 season, Owen noted the harsh realities that meet newly promoted teams in England's top flight.
Simply put, the teams that move up are immediately favoured to drop back down.
"When you're looking at relegation, eyes are immediately drawn on the three [teams] that come up because it is really tough, and inevitably one or two of the teams that have come up do go back down," he said.
"But it's a it's an interesting one. There is a gap between the Premier League and Championship.
"Hopefully one or two of those teams can stay up, because we talked about the title race last season but the relegation battle was incredible as well. It was great. So I think at all ends at the table we want competitive football."