After Saturday’s disappointing defeat to Sunderland, Nottingham Forest welcome Danish Superliga outfit FC Midtjylland to the East Midlands.
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Ange Postecoglou has endured a challenging start since taking the reins at Forest, failing to register a single victory in his opening six matches in charge.
Last week’s spirited performance in Seville has perhaps been the highlight of Postecoglou’s short tenure, but the former Spurs boss will have been gutted to leave the Estadio La Cartuja with a solitary point. After Cédric Bakambu put Real Betis ahead early on, Igor Jesus responded with a quick-fire double to give the visitors a 2-1 lead at the interval. However, towards the end of a tepid second half, ex-Manchester United winger Antony converted from close range to ensure the Spaniards took a share of the spoils.
There’s also been a recent change in personnel in the Midtjylland dugout, after Thomas Thomasberg was controversially sacked following a run of 17 matches without defeat. Mike Tullberg faced the slightly less intimidating task of hosting Austrian side Sturm Graz in his opening outing as manager, who were duly defeated thanks to an own goal from visiting ‘keeper Oliver Christensen and a late Ousmane Diao header. The Wolves travel to Nottingham having just recorded their sixth league victory of the new campaign, with Monday’s 2-1 triumph over Randers enabling them to remain within two points of early pace-setters Aarhus.
Live coverage of Forest’s first European tie at the City Ground for almost three decades will be provided by TNT Sports, the UK’s exclusive broadcaster of the UEFA Europa League. Programming commences at 19:30 BST (ahead of a 20:00 kick-off) on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.
Nottingham Forest v Midtjylland: Key information
Date: Thursday, October 2nd
Kick-off time: 20:00 (BST)
Venue: City Ground
Referee: Willy Delajod (Assistant Referees: Erwan Finjean and Valentin Évrard, Fourth Official: Ruddy Buquet
VAR: Jérôme Brisard (Assistant VAR: Cătălin Sorin Popa)
TV Channels: TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate
Live stream: discovery+ app
Odds: Nottingham Forest: 12/25, Draw: 4/1, Midtjylland: 19/4
Nottingham Forest v Midtjylland team news
Both managers have several injury concerns, but most of these absentees are expected to return at some stage in October. Ange Postecoglou will almost certainly adopt his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation, while Mike Tullberg has experimented with different systems during the first fortnight of his tenure. Having also deployed a 4-2-3-1 set-up last time out, don’t be surprised if Tullberg opts to go toe-to-toe with his Australian counterpart.
Nottingham Forest team news
After making a raft of changes ahead of Saturday’s disappointing defeat to Sunderland, Ange Postecoglou is likely to revert to a similar starting line-up to the one we saw in Seville. That could result in Ibrahim Sangaré anchoring the midfield alongside the in-form Elliot Anderson, at the expense of Argentinian ace Nicolás Domínguez.
There could be a wholesale switchover further up the pitch, with all four of Forest’s attacking positions seemingly up for grabs.
Dilane Bakwa, James McAtee, and Dan Ndoye assumed the three advanced midfield roles against Sunderland, but any member of this trio could easily find themselves amongst the substitutes on Thursday night. English duo Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi will be hoping to be recalled to Postecoglou’s starting XI, while Omari Hutchinson – who made a positive impact after being introduced from the bench on Saturday evening – was not named in Nottingham Forest’s Europa League squad.
It’ll be extremely interesting to see who will be awarded the responsibility of leading the line, with Chris Wood and Igor Jesus currently jockeying for position. The New Zealand international hasn’t netted since his bagging a brace against Brentford in Forest’s first outing of the season, while Igor Jesus is yet to register a Premier League goal. However, the Brazilian scored twice in Seville and Swansea, so seems to be already developing a knack for scoring in cup competitions.
Douglas Luiz remains sidelined after straining his hamstring against Betis, while Brazilian international Murillo last played in mid-September’s 3-0 loss to Arsenal in North London. However, the 23-year-old central defender appears to be recovering well from a niggling thigh issue, so he could be available for this weekend’s trip to St. James’ Park.
Nottingham Forest predicted line-up v Midtjylland (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Ange Postecoglou
Matz Sels (GK), Nico Williams, Nikola Milenković, Morato, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Ibrahim Sangaré, Elliot Anderson, Dilane
Bakwa, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus
Midtjylland team news
The visitors are still without Martin Erlić and Dani Silva, but both players are expected to be back soon after the upcoming international break.
Mike Tullberg is also unable to call upon the services of talented teenage winger Mikel Gogorza, who hasn’t featured since scoring in the 4-2 victory over Silkeborg back in August. The Danish youth international is also hoping to complete his recovery by the latter stages of October.
The Danes have relished the return of imposing centre-back Ousmane Diao in recent weeks, after he endured a prolonged spell on the treatment table due to a broken foot. The Senegalese missed the vast majority of Midtjylland’s European qualification campaign as well as their first seven Danish Superliga outings, but made his fifth consecutive start on Monday evening.
Midtjylland predicted line-up v Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1)
Coach: Mike Tullberg
Elías Rafn Ólafsson, Kevin Mbabu, Ousmane Diao, Lee Han-beom, Mads Bech Sørensen, Philip Billing, Pedro Bravo, Aral
Şimşir, Denil Castillo, Júnior Brumado, Franculino Djú
Where to watch on TV or live stream?
TNT Sports customers can follow all of the action at the City Ground on TNT Sports 4, while those with a compatible device area able to enjoy the match in 4K HDR imagery and Dolby Atmos surround sound via TNT Sports Ultimate.
Thursday’s clash will also be streamed live on the discovery+ application, with extended highlights and full match replay available following the final whistle.
Head-to-head record
As Nottingham Forest have endured a 29-year absence from UEFA Club Competitions, it’s perhaps unsurprising that this is the first meeting between these two teams.
Forest have also never previously faced Danish opposition, but this will be the fifth occasion Midtjylland have lined up against a Premier League outfit. The Wolves have only beaten an English side on one occasion, overcoming Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United in the Europa League knockout stages back in February 2016. On a famous night at the MCH Arena, goals from Pione Sisto and Paul Onuachu wiped out Memphis Depay’s opener, handing the hosts a historic 2-1 victory. However, the Danes would be subsequently knocked out of the competition after losing heavily at Old Trafford in the return leg.
Odds for Nottingham Forest v Midtjylland
The bookmakers’ decision to install Nottingham Forest as heavy favourites comes as a slight surprise, particularly given the Garibaldi’s recent sequence of results. Midtjylland arrive at the City Ground with a solid European pedigree, having reached the group stage/league phase of a major continental competition in five of the last six seasons.
Therefore, a price of 19/4 for an away triumph offers plenty of value. Perhaps the double chance option is the best way to go, as the draw also seems to be attracting relatively long odds.
Match Result odds
The odds, correct at the time of publication, are subject to change. All odds provided by bet365.