Nottingham Forest

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Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City go in search of a seventh consecutive win in all competitions, hosting relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Wednesday's match (19:30 GMT).

Semenyo shining for City

No Erling Haaland, no problem. Manchester City were without their top scorer for the visit to Leeds – the city where the Norwegian was born – but nonetheless recorded another important victory to keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal.

Perhaps it should be no surprise. City have won 14 of the 18 top-flight fixtures Haaland has missed since arriving in 2022, losing only twice.

Manager Pep Guardiola hailed the result as a "huge victory", praising his team's "incredible focus" after surviving sustained late pressure at Elland Road. Grinding out victories has become something of a hallmark for this current City side, who have won three of their past four league games by a single-goal margin.

While defender Marc Guehi played a crucial role in City hanging on to their lead on Saturday, it was fellow January signing Antoine Semenyo who was the match-winner. The Ghana international has scored six times in 11 league and cup appearances since joining from Bournemouth for an initial £62.5m, helping to relieve the goalscoring burden on Haaland.

Overall, he has been directly involved in 18 Premier League goals this season, scoring 14 and assisting four more. Only three players had higher figures prior to the latest round of fixtures.

Can Igor Jesus find his scoring touch in the Premier League?

Nottingham Forest have lost their three Premier League matches at the Etihad Stadium by an aggregate score of 11-0 and new boss Vitor Pereira believes his struggling team must "approach this game with intelligence", stressing they need to recognise "when it's not the time to press".

Pereira's cautious approach may be understandable given he has not celebrated a Premier League win since last April, when his Wolves side defeated Leicester 3-0. But if Forest are to stay up, more cutting edge will be needed. Their tally of 26 goals this season is the second lowest in the top flight, with only Wolves having netted fewer.

Chris Wood led the line effectively last term, hitting 20 Premier League goals, but has not played since October because of a knee injury. Forest have therefore turned to Igor Jesus, who joined from Botafogo last summer for £10m. While the 25-year-old is his side's top scorer this season he has struggled to make an impact when it matters most.

Ten of his 12 goals have come in cup competitions, where he has demonstrated elite finishing, scoring with 35.7% of his shots and outperforming his expected goals figure by more than four.

But it has been a very different story in the Premier League. While he has attempted 50 shots, only 10 have been on target and just two have resulted in goals – a paltry shot conversion rate of 4%.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira was brought in to keep them up but he has a 0% winning ratio in the Premier League this season after 10 games in charge of Wolves and now two defeats with Forest.

It's hard to see that changing at Etihad Stadium - City are going to win comfortably, whether or not Erling Haaland is back from injury to lead their attack.

Pereira was moaning about the way Forest pressed in their defeat by Brighton at the weekend, but if you keep bringing in different managers and changing the way you play, then it is going to end up biting you on the backside.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

The inquest has already begun. The search for answers has been under way for a while now. But the season still goes on. And the blame game for Nottingham Forest's slow demise will be far reaching – and probably inconclusive.

Sunday's loss to Brighton & Hove Albion was largely down to defensive mistakes. Despite playing as we did, a point was still achievable.

But it was the same as the previous Sunday against Liverpool. Do those errors happen if the same players didn't have to grind out a result against Fenerbahce on Thursday? Some questions never have answers.

Perhaps last season was a complete freak. A season where the stars aligned and while other clubs were off form, we had a mean defence and the ability to score from limited chances.

But that's probably being generous to the cacophony of mistakes made this season. To spend £200m in one summer and only have one or two regular performers is a disaster. Many of them may still come good, but we didn't need signings for the future; we needed signings to play in the league and three cups in the present.

It is, of course, easy to point the finger at Edu. The global head of football arrived last July and everything's gone wrong since.

The signings, the falling out with Nuno Espirito Santo and what followed… but that's conjecture. Surely he alone is not responsible for everything that's happened?

Who sacked Nuno, appointed Ange Postecoglou, sacked Postecoglou, appointed Sean Dyche, sacked Dyche and then appointed Vitor Pereira?

Evangelos Marinakis might be a man of strong will but, again, surely he alone is not responsible for all of those decisions?

The players on the pitch often bear the brunt of failure - whether it's booing, online criticism or just being dropped from the team sheet. But you have to have some sympathy for coping with the turmoil around them. Changing managers, changing training, changing tactics…

It's a mess, and largely one of our own making. But what are the answers?

Well, sign a top-class striker last summer and don't sack Nuno are the two obvious ones. But it's too late for that.

Now we simply have to be better than the two clubs either side of us in the table — West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur. Either way, the inquest will continue.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

The Observer's Rory Smith believes Nottingham Forest are underachieving this season with the players they have and actually have a better squad than West Ham and Tottenham.

"Make do and mend," to pull them away from the relegation scrap should be Vitor Pereira's attitude, Smith said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira doesn't know whether Nicolo Savona will be able to play again this season.

The defender, who joined from Juventus last year, has made 20 appearances in his debut season for the club.

However, the 22-year-old has been absent for over a month with a knee injury.

"I really don't know [if he'll play again this season]," Pereira said at his news conference before their game at Manchester City on Wednesday.

"After the surgery, they will say something and will inform us, but it is difficult."

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It is fair to glean that Nottingham Forest's appointment of Edu as global head of football has not gone according to plan.

Such was the optimism that accompanied the executive's appointment last summer that no-one could have envisaged what was ahead.

Edu officially arrived in July, his appointment at the City Ground viewed as a major coup.

The Brazilian was key in Arsenal's re-emergence as a domestic and European force; in tandem with Mikel Arteta reconstructing a squad that – for so long – flattered to deceive.

Behind the scenes he was central to establishing an inclusive culture at the club. Speak to many who worked under Edu at Arsenal and they will tell you his work towards nurturing a connected workforce was his most important achievement at the north London club.

But Edu yearned for greater responsibility. He was excited by the idea of working under an international multi-club model; an objective that working under Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis' stable of teams – that also includes Olympiakos and Rio Ave – would allow.

Arsenal tried to keep Edu at the Emirates, but by the time the Gunners could assemble a package to keep the executive he was too far down the line with Forest.

Yet, fast forward nine months, things have not worked out as hoped.

The biggest indictment on Forest's season is their alarming slide towards relegation trouble.

The club are currently just two points clear of the relegation zone, a far cry from last season's push for Champions League qualification and eventual passage into the Europa League.

Then, of course, there's the managerial upheaval that has characterised their campaign.

Having started the season with Nuno Espirito Santo in charge, Forest's players are now working under their fourth manager of the season.

Nuno was sacked, largely owing to a breakdown in relations with Edu. Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche have also lost their jobs.

Vitor Pereira has been tasked with guiding Forest to top-flight survival, but he is yet to win a Premier League game since his appointment last month.

Given the club have spent close to £200m on new players since the summer, a recruitment path that Edu – given his remit – has been central too, it would be understandable if figures at the City Ground are underwhelmed by it all.

Forest appeared to be on the cusp of an exciting new era at the start of the season with Edu viewed as one of the key drivers on that journey.

His body of work at Forest is under the microscope.

There have been indications from sources that the 47-year-old has found himself under increasing internal scrutiny in recent weeks amid inidications an exit may be looming - though Forest insist there is no truth to those suggestions.

The implications of Forest's season remain to be seen, though history tells us Marinakis is not afraid to react in light of what he views as underachievement.

What looked to be the start of a blossoming relationship has turned into an episode that supporters fear could lead them into the Championship.

Melissa Edwards
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega remains unavailable after missing the trip to Brighton on Sunday through injury.

• On Matz Sels coming back from his own injury at the Amex: "We had a conversation with Sels trying to explain that we need him in this moment. We know it's not the time because he needed a few more days to be fit and in shape but in the end, he's a leader, has a strong character and he wants to help the team so he decided to accept the challenge and take the risk between him, me and the medical department to play the game."

• Pereira has confidence in his side despite sitting two points above the relegation zone. He said: "The Premier League is a top and tough league if you look at the teams fighting to stay here. I'm not the kind of person who tries to find excuses but it's not easy to play four games in 12 days because they are not machines. The speed is there but to play with intensity and to play with pressing that I like to see with quality and the movements, we need fresh legs and fresh minds. They are trying and they have the quality which is why I'm very positive."

• When asked if he has a 'points target' that he thinks would guarantee safety, he said: "No, I think game after game. Try to get points and compete for them, correct mistakes because we can play at a better level. Try to rest mentally and physically and be ready for the next game and try and go there and get some points."

• On attempting to fight on two fronts in Premier League and the Europa League: "This is an ambitious club with an ambitious president, we want to move forward in the Europa League but we want with everything to be in the Premier League next season. Before I accepted the job, I looked through the schedule, I looked and I knew that it will be tough but a very good challenge."

• He continued: "For me, to be in the Premier League facing these kinds of problems in the Europa League is an honour, because it means I'm here in the best league in the world, fighting the best managers in the world."

• On preparing for Man City: "We need to approach it with intelligence because to play there and against City, with our tools and quality and work, we need to try to understand the proper moments to do things. Not to play too fast or lose the ball or press them when it's not the time, but press them when it is the proper time. This is something we can improve."

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

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League Brighton and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Rob: I should be happy with three points but I'm just angry we continue not to be able to perform over 90 mins - is it the players or Hurzeler? So dominant for 45 mins and then we proceed to over play and pass everything backwards, giving encouragement to Forest, in the second half. Brighton continue to be a hugely frustrating watch.

Chris: Good performance, great goals and great defending. Great to see Solly March back in the team and what a reception he got when he came on.

Joe: Good result but we made that ridiculously difficult for ourselves. Substitutions were made far too late and we almost cost ourselves by sitting back unnecessarily against a team 17th in the league. Would love to know also what Hurzeler's big problem with Minteh is.

Steve: Welcome win after a rough patch. I feel we could still disrupt the top four if we play to our potential, starting on Wednesday. Looking much more potent going forward so hopeful for a strong finish to finish top ten.

Nottingham Forest fans

Stephen: Didn't look like winning. Always second to the ball, was just jogging around while Brighton were running their socks out. Didn't deserve any points today.

Fosi: Shocking defence today, another toothless display. We are down without doubt, no quality backup players. The same players every game are shattered . Someone should have taken the decision either league or Europe ages ago, now we will get neither . Total lack of management by Marankis along with his useless mate Edu!!!

Derek: Just lacklustre, no control, urgency or drive. So disappointing. Where was the team that played against Liverpool?

Ivan: Relegation written all over it. The players really need to take a long hard look at themselves.

Emily Salley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Vitor Pereira blamed a lack of preparation time for Nottingham Forest's defeat at Brighton.

Forest lost 2-1 at home to Fenerbahce in the Europa League on Thursday, although they progressed to the last 16 thanks to their 3-0 win in the first leg.

It means that Forest, who have been drawn against Danish side Midtjylland, will end up playing six games in the first 22 days of March.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Pereira said: "The tiredness is not only physical, it's mental too. You need to recover.

"But this is what we have. You cannot use the Europa League as an excuse because we are there and we are there competing.

"Before I accepted the job, I knew that we have ambitions to keep our targets in both competitions."

Forest are a long way from the joys of last season, when they finished seventh and secured a place in Europe for the first time since 1996.

The club have won just seven of their 28 league games this term and they have struggled without last season's top scorer Chris Wood, who has been out since October with knee injury.

Only bottom side Wolves (15) have failed to score in more Premier League games this season than Forest (13).

Read more about Forest and the Premier League relegation battle

Nottingham Forest do not intend to exercise a 35m euro (£31m) option to turn Italy striker Lorenzo Lucca's loan move from Napoli into a permanent switch. (Niocolo Schira, via Football italia), external

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

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Pundits Joe Hart and Leon Osman join host Kelly Cates 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:

• Brighton 2-1 Nottingham Forest

• Fulham 2-1 Tottenham

• Manchester United 2-1 Crystal Palace

• Arsenal 2-1 Chelsea

Emily Salley
BBC Sport journalist

Image source, Getty Images

It was just 13 months ago that an emphatic 7-0 victory over Brighton at the City Ground lifted Nottingham Forest up to third in the Premier League.

The club find themselves in a very different place now.

Forest have sacked three managers since then and are in a relegation fight, while finding the back of the net has become a major problem.

Vitor Pereira got Wolves out of a sticky situation last season, but he will need to get his team firing in front of goal if they are to survive this season.

Only bottom side Wolves (15) have failed to score in more Premier League games this term than the Tricky Trees (13).

Morgan Gibbs-White was Forest's only true threat on the south coast, but he was unable to find a second late in the second half when his header - the visitor's best chance since his 13th-minute equaliser - was easily collected by Bart Verbruggen.

Igor Jesus, meanwhile, has not been able to replicate his Europa League form in the Premier League - scoring just twice compared to seven times in Europe.

Pereira will be hopeful that an imminent return for Chris Wood, who scored 20 league goals last season but has been out injured since October, is on the cards for Forest as they approach the back end of the season.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira speaking to BBC Match of the Day: "What I realised is eight days to prepare a game is different than to prepare a game in three days. We played three days ago. They pressed us, they were aggressive and the quality of our moments are not what we can do. To control them with possession was difficult because we want to press them but not in the proper way.

"Second half, in my opinion, was completely different. We adjust our system even without working. And we controlled the game, we didn't conceded spaces or the chance to score. We had one or two chances to equalise the game. What I keep in my mind is the reaction of the players and for the future we need to have two systems to fight in the next game."

On three goals in the first 15 minutes of the match: "With mistakes. We cannot press them if we are not prepared to press them. When we opened spaces they are a very good team and they scored two goals. It was about the moment to press, the way to press. We thought we had the energy to do it but when we go without coordination it is not possible, especially when we do are not full of energy to go and to win the duels."

On how he views things at the bottom of the table: "I believe we need to focus on the present and focus on the day we play, focus on the game we are playing. Not to look at the future. The future we will see what happens. If you lose your focus thinking about what can happen, this is a mistake in my opinion. Just look at the now. Just rest, be ready, prepare for the next game and focus on the next game."

Listen to more from Pereira on BBC Sounds here

Did you know?

• Nottingham Forest have failed to win in their last five games in the Premier League, their last longer winless streak was from 24th August 2025 to 1st November 2025, a run of nine games.

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

Have your say on Brighton's performance

What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Image source, BBC Sport

Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler names an unchanged starting XI from their 2-0 win at Brentford last weekend.

James Milner is fit to start despite despite being forced off against the Bees with a thigh injury.

Brighton XI: Verbruggen; Wieffer, Van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu; Hinshelwood, Milner, Gross; Gomez, Welbeck, Mitoma.

Subs: Steele, March, Rutter, Minteh, Baleba, Kostoulas, Boscagli, De Cuyper, Veltman.

Vitor Pereira makes seven changes to his Nottingham Forest side after their mid-week second-leg defeat by Fenerbahce in the Europa League.

Goalkeeper Matz Sels returns from injury, while Morgan Gibbs-white, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Igor Jesus return to the starting line-up.

Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic and Ibrahim Sangare also start.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus.

Subs: Gunn, Awoniyi, Ndoye, Dominguez, Yates, Cunha, McAtee, Netz, Bakwa.

Image source, BBC Sport

There are four games in the Premier League on Sunday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Brighton v Nottingham Forest - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Fulham v Tottenham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Manchester United v Crystal Palace - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Arsenal v Chelsea (16:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

Kick-off times 14:00 GMT unless stated

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Brighton badly needed last week's win over Brentford, just to settle things down under Fabian Hurzeler. There had been a lot of talk about his future while they were on a poor run.

Nottingham Forest did not deserve to lose against Liverpool last week but scoring goals is still a problem for them, and I feel like it could haunt them again here.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

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.