Nottingham Forest v Ferencvaros: Where to watch, preview, lineups and odds

Ryan Murray

Nottingham Forest host Ferencvaros on the final matchday of the Europa League’s opening phase.

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Although their domestic form has suffered as a consequence of an early-season managerial merry-go-round, Forest have already guaranteed qualification to the Europa League knockout stages.

After a thrilling draw with Real Betis at the Estadio de La Cartuja, the Reds experienced mixed fortunes across their next two continental fixtures. A sobering 3-2 loss to Midtjylland hastened Ange Postecoglou’s departure from the club, before his replacement Sean Dyche secured an impressive victory over Portuguese giants Porto in the first game of his tenure. Forest would then accrue seven points from the subsequent three matchdays, sharing a goalless draw with Sturm Graz before beating Malmö and Utrecht ahead of the winter shutdown. However, a bizarre 1-0 defeat away to Braga – which saw the hosts prevail without registering a single shot on target – could serve to puncture their European momentum.

Meanwhile, Ferencvaros are thriving under the stewardship of former Tottenham Hotspur hero Robbie Keane, who once netted in an FA Cup fifth round replay against Nottingham Forest during a glittering playing career. Although they’re also falling short of expectations on the domestic front, the reigning Hungarian champions remain unbeaten in Europe this season.

A 1-1 stalemate with a gutsy Viktoria Plzeň outfit preceded three straight wins, as Keane’s men put Genk, RB Salzburg, and Ludogorets to the sword. After claiming a hard-earned point amidst the hostile atmosphere of Fenerbahçe’s Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, they came back from a goal down to edge past Rangers in Budapest.

Last week’s draw with Panathinaikos – the third time Ferencvaros have helped to produce a 1-1 scoreline in this season’s competition – leaves them in seventh place heading into the final round of fixtures. Therefore, the visitors will be assured automatic qualification to the last sixteen if they can clinch maximum points at the City Ground on Thursday night.

Nottingham Forest’s clash with Ferencvaros will be televised live on TNT Sports, the United Kingdom’s exclusive broadcaster of the Europa League. The pre-match build-up begins at 19:00 (BST), exactly one hour before kick-off.

Nottingham Forest v Ferencvaros – Key information

Date: Wednesday, January 28th

Kick-off time: 20:00 (BST)

Venue: City Ground, Nottingham

Referee: Sebastian Gishamer (Assistant Referees: Roland Riedel and Santino Schreiner, Fourth Official: Walter Altmann)

VAR: Manuel Schüttengruber (Assistant VAR: Rob Dieperink)

TV Channels: TNT Sports 3

Live stream: discovery+

Odds: Nottingham Forest: 4/7, Draw: 29/10, Ferencvaros: 17/4

Odds provided by bet365

Nottingham Forest v Ferencvaros team news

Neither manager has too many injury headaches to contend with, although both sides are missing a couple of key players. Robbie Keane is expected to set up with three at the back, as he attempts to outnumber the hosts in midfield. Having tinkered with his formation on several occasions already in Europe, Sean Dyche will likely adopt his familiar 4-2-3-1 formation.

Nottingham Forest team news

The continuing absence of Chris Wood is a major point of frustration for Forest, who are seriously lacking firepower in the final third. The New Zealand international underwent surgery in December after seriously damaging his knee during the autumn, but could remain out until the end of the season. As a result of Woods’ condition, Igor Jesus has been forced to carry most of the goalscoring burden. It’s a responsibility he’s handled particularly well on the continental stage, having netted four goals in his five Europa League appearances so far.

John Victor is also struggling with a knee issue, which he sustained while making a calamitous error against Aston Villa earlier this month. That led to Matz Sels being reinstated between the sticks, after the Belgian stopper originally lost his place while nursing a couple of niggling injuries. Murillo played every minute of Forest’s crucial 2-0 triumph over Brentford on Sunday, and therefore appears to have shaken off his hamstring problem.

However, the hosts won’t be able to call upon the services of the suspended Elliot Anderson. The industrious midfielder was sent off in Braga despite only entering the fray as a second-half substitute, due to hurling a barrage of verbal abuse towards Croatian referee Igor Pajač.

Nottingham Forest predicted lineup v Ferencváros (4-2-3-1)

Coach: Sean Dyche

Matz Sels (GK); Ola Aina, Nikola Milenković, Murillo, Neco Williams; Douglas Luiz, Ibrahim Sangaré; Callum Hudson-Odoi, Morgan Gibbs-White, Nicolás Domínguez; Igor Jesus

Ferencvaros team news

Ferencvaros are without imposing central defender Stefan Gartenmann, who has been unavailable since November’s 4-1 win over MTK Budapest. Less than a minute after opening the scoring against his team's fierce local rivals, the Danish-born Swiss international hobbled off with a knee complaint. Having already suffered an injury-ravaged eighteen months, there appears to be no change in luck for Krisztián Lisztes. The talented youngster returned to his boyhood club in the summer after agreeing a loan switch from Eintracht Frankfurt, but has only made two appearances since.

Although several high-profile recruits have arrived at the Groupama Aréna in recent weeks, Robbie Keane will be lamenting the loss of a couple of key players. Bournemouth made a successful swoop for highly-rated midfielder Alex Tóth last week, while top scorer Barnabás Varga opted to join AEK Athens earlier on in the window. Nevertheless, the signings of Romanian playmaker Marius Corbu and proven goalscorer Franko Kovačević will undoubtedly enhance Keane’s squad, as the Irishman attempts to close the four-point gap on league leaders ETO Győr. Naby Keïta has also put pen to paper on a permanent deal following the conclusion of his temporary switch from Werder Bremen, but the former Liverpool midfielder is currently sidelined with an unknown issue.

Ferencvaros predicted lineup v Nottingham Forest

Coach: Robbie Keane

Dávid Gróf (GK); Gábor Szalai, Ibrahim Cissé, Toon Raemaekers; Cebrail Makreckis, Ádám Madarász, Gavriel Kanichowsky, Júlio Romão, Barnabás Nagy; Bamidele Yusuf, Lenny Joseph

Where to watch on TV or live stream?

TNT Sports will provide comprehensive coverage of a potentially dramatic night in the Europa League, as the competition’s initial stage draws to a conclusion. Viewers can flick between Nottingham Forest’s encounter with Ferencvaros (TNT Sports 3) and several other key fixtures of interest, with Aston Villa, Celtic, and Rangers all in action.

As a sister network of the London-based broadcaster, discovery+ offers full access to TNT Sports content. Those with a discovery+ subscription can follow events at the City Ground via the streaming service’s in-house app, where customers will also be able to watch all of Thursday evening’s remaining 17 Europa League contests.

Head-to-Head record

Despite their immensely successful participation in European competition throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s, Nottingham Forest have never previously faced a Hungarian opponent.

Meanwhile, Ferencvaros have been beaten in six of their nine previous visits to England. Fradi’s solitary triumph on English soil came way back in January 1968, when they won at Anfield in the third round of the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, the precursor to the UEFA Cup (and later modern-day Europa League). Having also beaten Bill Shankly’s Liverpool in Budapest, Ferencvaros progressed to the quarter-final stage. After eliminating Athletic Bilbao and later Bologna in the semi-final, the Hungarians were denied the privilege of being crowned Inter-Cities Fairs Cup champions for the second time in four seasons by a strong Leeds United side.