Nottingham Forest

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

Brighton & Hove Albion's first win in seven games last weekend, at the expense of Brentford, has given them a seven-point cushion over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. Albion last won consecutive games in November, when they beat Brentford and then Forest in the reverse fixtures.

Experience pays off

Those back-to-back victories three months ago put Brighton fifth in the table, just three points shy of Manchester City in second. They earned only their second win in 14 attempts since then with a surprise but deserved win at in-form Brentford, doing so with their oldest starting XI since September 2023.

Head coach Fabian Hurzeler, who turned 33 on Thursday, seemingly put faith in the adage 'with age comes wisdom' in a bid to end Albion's slump. Four players aged 34 or older formed the spine of a team with an average age of 28 years and 356 days, and Hurzeler admitted: "The only difference today was… we managed the key moments better. We had a lot of experienced players on the pitch who know how to do that."

It's a significant shift in approach from Hurzeler. The average age of the team across 2025-26 has been considerably lower at 26 years and four days, while last season's average of 25 years and 100 days was the second youngest in the division, behind Chelsea.

Welbeck nears career milestone

One of Brighton's most experienced players, Danny Welbeck, scored his first league goal of 2026 to double the team's lead at Brentford.

The 35-year-old now has nine Premier League goals this campaign, one short of his career-best tally from last season. Little wonder both Hurzeler and the club want to keep Welbeck beyond the expiry of his contract this summer.

Forest misfiring

Nottingham Forest have lost back-to-back games under Vitor Pereira, their fourth head coach of the season, though Thursday's Europa League play-off defeat by Fenerbahce didn't cost them victory in the two-legged tie on aggregate.

Pereira said he was "angry with football" after his side undeservedly lost to a 97th-minute goal by Liverpool last Sunday. Forest's first-half display in particular was excellent as they became the first side to have as many as 12 shots in the opening half of a league game against Liverpool since May 2015.

Scoring goals has been Nottingham Forest's issue all season, with a mere 7.1% of their shots finding the back of the net. Only bottom side Wolves have fared worse. The East Midlands side have scored 6.7 goals fewer than expected from the quality of chances they've had, the third biggest underperformance in the Premier League this season. Conversely, last season's overperformance of 11.5 was the highest in the division.

Over the previous two rounds of Premier League fixtures, Forest have created the most chances, had the most shots, the joint-second highest total of shots on target, third most touches in the opposition penalty area and accumulated an expected goals tally of 3.74 – but failed to score.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Midtjylland will return to haunt Nottingham Forest, a reminder of the chaos which has enveloped the season.

The four-time Danish champions, last season's runners-up, inflicted a devastating blow on Ange Postecoglou in October.

Their 3-2 win at the City Ground in the Europa League group phase damaged the Australian beyond repair, with Forest fans chanting "sacked in the morning" just three weeks into his reign.

This time they arrive in the last 16, with the first leg in Nottingham on 12 March, and will not even face Postecoglou's replacement - with Sean Dyche lasting just 114 days himself.

Current boss, the fourth of the season, Vitor Pereira made six changes as Forest edged past Fenerbahce on Thursday, losing 2-1 at the City Ground to progress 4-2 on aggregate in the play-off round.

He admitted he needed to be mindful of Sunday's trip to Brighton and Forest could be in the Premier League's bottom three if West Ham beat Liverpool on Saturday.

Pereira sidestepped a question about whether the Premier League is the priority over the Europa League but survival is paramount for Forest.

After the first leg against Midtjylland at the City Ground they host Fulham before travelling to Tottenham following the away leg a week later.

It will be a test of Pereira's skills and their squad depth to juggle both competitions late into the season.

If he can do what Postecoglou could not, and beat of Midtjylland, then it could provide the springboard to survival.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Sunday's Premier League game against Brighton at American Express Stadium (kick-off 14:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• He was forced to play Murillo at left-back against Fenerbahce as they "have one or two positions that don't have solutions" at the moment.

• They are "working hard" to get Chris Wood back as soon as possible, with the view for at least the last six games of the season.

• He said his side played "best" when they were 2-0 down to Fenerbahce on Thursday and they "had the personality" to try to get back in the game.

• On opponents Brighton: "They have a good team. Offensively they play very good football. I believe that it will be a tough match. We want to play good football, they want to play good football. We want the three points, they want three points."

• He said he wants his side "to play the way we played against Liverpool in the first half" because it showed "confidence".

• On how he looks to solve Forest's goalscoring struggles this season: "In Istanbul we scored three goals. We are creating the chances, and I believe that we can score the goals that we need to build our future."

• He said he "cannot control" what Leeds and West Ham do in their respective games on Saturday so his focus is "on the pitch, our efforts, our organisation, our ambition, and our mentality".

• On this being his fourth game in two weeks and the fixture list: "It's a big challenge, but before I accepted the job, I knew that. I know that I don't have a lot of time to work in the training, but we have talent, we have quality, and I believe that."

Listen to live commentary of Brighton vs Nottingham Forest on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2 from 14:00 GMT on Sunday.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Got a question about Forest? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Image source, Getty Images

The draw for the Europa League last 16 has been completed with English sides Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest learning their opponents.

Villa will face Ligue 1 side Lille, playing the first leg in France, while Forest will play Danish side Midtjylland with the first leg at the City Ground.

It is the second time Forest will face Midtjylland this season after losing 3-2 at home in the league phase during the short-lived Ange Postecoglou era.

Villa faced Lille two years ago in a two-legged quarter-final in the Conference League, eventually progressing on penalties after some memorable antics from Emi Martinez.

The first legs will be played on Thursday, 12 March, with the second legs a week later.

If Forest win they would face Stuttgart or Porto in the quarter-finals.

Villa would come up against Bologna or Roma at that stage if they progress.

Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa could meet in the semis, as their ties are on the same half of the draw.

Read more about the draw here

Image source, Getty Images

We asked for your views on Thursday's Europa League defeat to Fenerbache, with Forest progressing on aggregate..

Here are some of your comments:

Kris: First of all, we passed the play-off test, and it's job done. However, the second string again showed they can't turn in an A-grade performance. This was more of a D minus. If Mr M feels the need to sack someone this week, look no further than Edu. If his remit was to find the slowest, clumsiest striker he could, then he's a genius. Lucca has all of that in spades. If the aim was to resolve our woeful goal scoring, it's a grade F. Must do better.

Ben: Well, we're through, but not for the first time this season Forest made it unnecessarily hard for themselves. It is concerning how far off the pace back-up players are whenever they are called upon. I would love to know why McAtee is unable to show his undoubted quality in a Forest shirt. On we march, but with far less swagger than I was expecting.

Pete: What can I say about that? How we managed to scrape through is lucky. First half was a non starter. At least we are into the next stage.

Ian: Abject performance in the first half. I can understand why he had to make changes but Morato - dear me. Much better second half and had three clear-cut chances but we are still struggling in front of goal - a better team than Fenerbahce would have buried us tonight. Hope this manager can get things right otherwise we will be out of Europa League and relegated. We are so inconsistent and the passing tonight was dreadful until Sangare and Aina came on. Nervy times ahead I reckon.

Graham: Wasn't brill but it did not need to be. A much-changed side protected the aggregate score line. Our striker has no pace, can not hit a ball from range, has no poacher's instincts to tap one in, can't head a ball, does not know where to stand for dead balls and cannot hold the ball up for anyone else. Other than that how was the theatre Mrs Lincoln?

Peter: Forest deserve to go down. Awful football with lots of sloppy mistakes. Morato dreadful.

Liverpool are firmly in the frame for Nottingham Forest's 23-year-old Brazil defender Murillo, although Chelsea still lead the pursuit. (Teamtalk), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Friday's full gossip column

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Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira, speaking to TNT Sports: "When you change half of the team it is not easy to keep the level. It was my responsibility because we have an important game in three days. I decided to recover some players to have energy in the next game, but it is not easy when you change a lot.

"We conceded a goal and we lost the confidence to play. It was difficult for me to do four subs at the same time but I spoke to the players and said it was my decision and we needed to do it because the game came into a dangerous situation for us.

"They scored the second but then we started to play to our level. We scored. This is important to keep in our minds, Europa League is not easy. I know Fenerbahce very well and they came here to fight for the result.

"For me I know if you change five players you don't know what will happen. If we scored first maybe we get the confidence and we play with five new players on the pitch.

"With stress and pressure it was difficult for them to be themselves because they are not playing every match. In the end we are in the competition. In the second half we controlled the game and result, let's move forward."

Forest's goalscorer Callum Hudson-Odoi, speaking to TNT Sports: "I think we made it difficult for ourselves. Sometimes you know when you are in the lead and sometimes you are comfortable. We showed a great reaction after the second goal. The most important thing is that we are through."

Much needed half-time team talk?: "100%. It was needed to up the levels a bit more and focus on what we know more which is us playing football and the high press. We reacted very well.

"When the ball came I just looked at it and felt confident I could get a shot off. Happy with that.

"In situations like that when they get a couple of goals you have to calm the game down. We had to focus on what we know as best, trying to get the ball and trying to create chances. We have to keep working hard on the little things.

"Every game from now until the end of the season is a final for us. We have to be ready for every game and keep working hard."

Did you know?

• Vitor Pereira has become the second Nottingham Forest manager this season to lose his first two home games in charge, along with Ange Postecoglou. He's now lost four in a row at home in all competitions (also his last two at Wolves), his worst-ever run as a manager.

• Forest winger Callum Hudson-Odoi netted his first Europa League goal since scoring for Maurizo Sarri's Chelsea side against Dynamo Kyiv back in March 2019 in a last 16 match.

Listen to Pereira on BBC Sounds

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

Come back on Friday for a selection of your replies

Nottingham Forest XI: Ortega, Morato, Murillo, Jair Cunha, Williams, Anderson, Dominguez, Hutchinson, McAtee, Yates, Lucca.

Subs: Gunn, Willows, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Ndoye, Igor Jesus,, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Aina, Abbott

Fenerbahce XI: Cetin, Muldur, Guendouzi, Demir, Brown, Aydin, Yuksek, Kante, Nene, Cherif, Akturkoglu.

Subs: Biterge, Ceylan, Asensio, Mercan, Semedo, Ekici, Uregen

Image source, Getty Images

You can follow all the action and reaction to Nottingham Forest's Europa League play-off round second leg against Fenerbache across the BBC Sport app and website.

Thursday's live text will bring you every moment with kick-off at 20:00 GMT.

Vitor Pereira's side lead 3-0 from last week's first leg in Instanbul.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

"Be careful what you say if you want to play tomorrow," joked Vitor Pereira.

The Nottingham Forest boss was addressing Elliot Anderson, who was sitting alongside him at the City Ground on Wednesday for the pre-Fenerbahce news conference.

The pair are preparing for Thursday's Europa League visit of the Turkish side. Barring a collapse, following last week's 3-0 first-leg win in Istanbul, Forest will progress to the last 16 and both Pereira and Anderson were relaxed.

They quickly deflected questions about the future, as Anderson was asked about dealing with his potential price tag and Pereira was quizzed on Morgan Gibbs-White, amid links to Manchester City and Manchester United.

The disappointment and frustration of Sunday's late loss to Liverpool has disappeared, even if Pereira was unusually subdued - although that may have been down to being cautious in the presence of Turkish reporters from his former club.

Pereira has had an immediate impact after answering the rescue call following Sean Dyche's sacking two weeks ago.

Forest's fourth manager of the season arrived to save them from relegation and has lifted the mood at the City Ground.

He will give others a chance on Thursday, especially given the trip to Brighton on Sunday will complete three games in the week.

Pereira will learn more from his side against Fenerbahce, which should give him more tools to help Forest survive.

The 57-year-old is always thoughtful, he was again here, and was mindful of committing the "worst mistake" of complacency.

Given Forest's theatrical season so far, a nervy night would not be a surprise, but Pereira continues to make the right noises.

This is your Forest page. Bookmark it, or if you're logged in on the BBC Sport app, press the bell icon and select news alerts. If you're logged in on a desktop, press 'follow' and you'll start seeing more Forest content when on the site.

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Elliot Anderson insists he remains focused on his form and Nottingham Forest amid links to Manchester City and Manchester United.

The England midfielder has been Forest's standout performer this season as they battle relegation from the Premier League.

Anderson is preparing to face Fenerbahce in the Europa League play-off as Forest aim to reach the last 16, holding a 3-0 lead from last week's first leg in Turkey.

"I'm just focusing on my football at the moment, performing and trying to give everything for Nottingham Forest. So that's all that's on my mind," said Anderson.

The 23-year-old is contracted to the City Ground until 2029 after joining from Newcastle in 2024.

The Manchester clubs are also reportedly monitoring Forest and England team-mate Morgan Gibbs-White.

Forest's captain almost joined Tottenham last summer, with Forest threatening legal action against Spurs, before signing a new deal until 2028.

BBC Sport has been told it does include a release clause, but boss Vitor Pereira believes the 26-year-old remains committed.

"I'm not hearing this. Every day is work. I feel they are very committed to our target, which is the most important thing," he said.

"He is a top player, the captain, the top player with the true spirit. That's why I accepted the job, because I have very good players.

"We need to prove every day in the work and we need to prove on the pitch, in the games, that we don't have just the talent in the team, but we create a strong team together."

Nicola Pearson
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League play-off second leg against Fenerbahce at the City Ground (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Pereira confirmed the squad will be the same as the one that travelled to Turkey for the first leg. Giving an update on injured players, he also confirmed goalkeeper Matz Sels will return to training on Monday, while Nicolo Savona is having tests to understand the extent of his injury and they still "need to wait" on Chris Wood.

• With a 3-0 lead coming into this match, the Forest boss said the "worst mistake that we can commit" is to think Thursday will be "an easy game", adding: "We need to approach this game with the right mentality to play in front of our supporters. It is a big chance to please them because they deserve it. They helped us a lot in the last game and they deserve a win."

• He said "of course" he will make changes as he wants to "see the players with the chance to play proving themselves", but cautioned: "We face a strong team and we cannot risk losing the balance."

• On what he has made of the group of players he is working with: "[We are] trying to give them confidence. We have talent, we have a true spirit. They are open to listening, and this is the way to create a strong team, a strong identity. Believe in ourselves, believe in the work that we are doing. It's a short time, but I want a team that believes in themselves and this is what we are trying to create. This mentality."

• On how they can bring European form into the Premier League: "This is a different competition and we have our ambition in this competition. Today is about tomorrow. We are talking about tomorrow. We start zero and we need to score goals. We need to not concede goals. What I want to see tomorrow is my team increasing their level."

• Having previous experience coming to manage teams in a similar position to Forest, Pereira insisted it is "impossible in the middle of the season to come and to change a lot of things" - however, they "can give them freedom to express themselves".

• He added: "We can give them tactical organisation in the way that we think is better for us - with a smile and with positive beliefs to create the true spirit."

Hit play above to hear more from Pereira or listen on BBC Sounds here

And hear from Elliot Anderson below, speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham about the need to avoid complacency - that's also available here on BBC Sounds

Got a question about Forest? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

Manchester United are interested in signing Nottingham Forest's England midfielders Morgan Gibbs-White, 26, and Elliot Anderson, 23, but rivals Manchester City are also monitoring both players. (Mail - subscription required), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

Continue playing as well as we did against Fenerbahce and Liverpool, and Nottingham Forest will be fine this season. We've heard this before though.

Vitor Pereira's arrival has given the side a lift, with his emphasis on identity - "the freedom to express themselves, to be happy and enjoy". And it's obvious that the dominance the Reds showed in Istanbul, and certainly in the first half on Sunday, demonstrated this identity.

However, the glaring statistic this season is that only one goal at the City Ground has been scored by a striker. And that striker was Chris Wood on the opening day against Brentford. The New Zealand international has remained injured since October and his clinical finishing from limited opportunities is perhaps the biggest loss to the club since our summer of discontent.

Igor Jesus has found his feet in the Europa League, becoming Forest's top scorer in European competition by beating Garry Birtles' 47-year record. But in the Premier League he's found goals harder to come by.

Arnaud Kalimuendo was sent out on loan to Eintracht Frankfurt - immediately collecting a player of the month award - and Taiwo Awoniyi scored a superb goal at Brentford last month but hasn't been seen since. Lorenzo Lucca has been here for just three weeks.

So can Pereira unlock our scoring issue? Does he have the tactical tweaks to make our current 4-2-3-1 set-up work? Or does a formation change make sense?

Either way, he's correctly identified confidence as an issue and it's clear that we have the players and ability to perform - they just need to believe that. As it stands, being comfortable on the ball and passing it around counts for little if you don't have a cutting edge.

Perhaps the new manager has seen enough to know that converting chances is all we really need to work on - especially set pieces. Because playing well, or not, counts for little if you don't start winning games.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Manchester United have been impressed by Nottingham Forest midfielder Ibrahim Sangare in their search for a replacement for the outgoing Casemiro. (GiveMeSport), external

Meanwhile, Forest could be open to offers for striker Igor Jesus at the end of the season. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Tuesday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Several questions have been sent in via our Nottingham Forest 'Ask Me Anything form' about James McAtee's role and impact at the City Ground.

McAtee has the chance for a fresh start under Vitor Pereira.

The midfielder was signed for £30m from Manchester City after captaining England Under-21s to Euro 2025 success in Slovakia last summer.

Much like Young Lions team-mate Harvey Elliott - who has been left in limbo at Aston Villa - McAtee has failed to make an impact this season.

He has managed just one Premier League start, although has started five times in Europe, while adapting to four managers at the City Ground. His only league start came under Ange Postecoglou in September and he came off after an hour.

McAtee scored in the 4-0 win over Ferencvaros in January but got just seven minutes in the 3-0 win at Fenerbahce in Turkey last week.

Some within the game questioned his move to Forest at the time, feeling McAtee was not the right fit for a Nuno Espirito Santo side, but he has struggled across multiple managers.

He was part of the team which former boss Sean Dyche told to look in the mirror after their penalty defeat by Wrexham in the FA Cup in January but has the chance to impress Pereira, following his appointment last week.

Have you got a question about Forest? Get in touch here

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Liverpool.

Here are some of your comments:

Forest fans

Samantha: Daylight robbery. Liverpool were there for the taking, but nevermind - chin up and keep playing the same way. We didn't deserve that at all.

Shaun: Forest should have had it wrapped up by half-time as we made them look ordinary in that half. In the second half, Liverpool grew into the game and Forest grew frustrated by their lack of finishing after their good work. By the end of normal time in the second half, a draw was deserved. If Forest keep their form over the past two games up we will be a Premier League side next season.

Dave: Only Wolves have scored fewer goals than Forest - and if you cannot score goals, you do not win games. We should have hammered Wolves and should have beaten a poor Liverpool side. The problem is that you don't get points for should haves.

Fosi: We played well, but everyone knew we needed a couple of quality strikers? What did Edu get us? Not good enough quality and he has no idea of a good player. It is costing us so much. Can we survive?

Liverpool fans

Dave: A real case of daylight robbery. Liverpool couldn't keep the ball in the first half and only improved slightly in the second half. I struggle to see any real system in build-up play. We were very lucky to take the three points but we'll take them!

Paul: Absolutely shocking first-half performance against the fourth-bottom team. How on earth we could not be up for this is beyond words. We should have been battling for our lives out there but, again, no desire, energy or skill. No idea why Mohamed Salah was grinning like a Cheshire cat on the bench after being subbed - just not a good look. That said, I'm not going to complain about the three points and I suspect losing Florian Wirtz affected the gameplan. I just hope Salah, Cody Gakpo and Hugo Ekitike can find some form. Rio Ngumoha should be given more minutes.

Josh: Just a bang average side turning out mediocre performances against one of the worst teams in the league. Richard Hughes and Michael Edwards have a lot of questions to answer.

James: A superb result but a very, very poor performance. I really hope the manager and the players can see past the result and realise that was nowhere near good enough and up their game. We will lose 95% of games when delivering a performance like that.

Pundits Danny Murphy and Shay Given join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Sunday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Sunderland 1-3 Fulham

• Crystal Palace 1-0 Wolves

• Nottingham Forest 0-1 Liverpool

• Tottenham 1-4 Arsenal

Aadam Patel
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Before Forest's win against Fenerbahce on Thursday, Vitor Pereira told his players to "express themselves". It worked in Istanbul and the way they started against Liverpool, you got the sense that his team talk would have been very similar.

His side raced out of the blocks and were it not for a fantastic save from Alisson to deny Callum Hudson-Odoi, they would have taken an early lead.

In midfield, Ibrahima Sangare and Elliott Anderson ran the game while they were hardly tested defensively until the latter stages.

This was a defeat that will certainly sting given the manner of it but there were encouraging signs for Forest.

They might be only two points above the relegation zone but on the basis of this showing, they should have enough to stay up.

"I am frustrated inside," said Pereira. "I am angry with football, but you know, it's time to keep the mentality, to come back stronger and with confidence to face the future. The first half we played in the way that we played in Istanbul but we didn't score the goals."

Forest boss Vitor Pereira, speaking to BBC Sport: "We are very frustrated. The way we played the first half was by creating chances and not conceding anything. It was a fantastic first half. We know the second half could be difficult because we played three days ago and travelled four hours. We didn't press properly. They won the game. In my opinion, one point was the minimum. Zero points is not fair.

"Inside the pitch, we must put the tallest guys where their tallest guys are. That must happen inside the pitch. We didn't. We lost the game in a small detail but we know we need to correct these kinds of things. It's a pity.

"The supporters were with us until the last minute and they recognised we deserved more than this but that is football. We need to prepare ourselves mentally and tactically for the next game.

"The team has talent. The players have ambition and talent. I am confident we will get points until the end of the season to move forward. One point is better than nothing. We have to come back stronger."

Did you know?

• Vitor Pereira became the first manager to lose his first Premier League game of a spell in charge of a club due to a 90th-minute (or later) winning goal since Nuno Espírito Santo also did so with Nottingham Forest against Bournemouth in December 2023.

• Forest's 12 first half shots were the most any side has managed in the opening 45 minutes of a Premier League game against Liverpool since Stoke City in May 2015 (also 12), with Stoke 5-0 up at half-time that day.

• Only Burnley (12) have scored fewer home goals in the Premier League this season than Forest (13). The Tricky Trees have drawn a blank eight times at the City Ground in the league this season, more than any other side at home in the top-flight.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Forest's performance

What did you make of Liverpool's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies