Nottingham Forest vs Leeds Preview: Team News & Prediction

Click here to join our official FPL mini-league for the 2026-27 season!

Nottingham Forest are beginning yet another new era at the City Ground as they welcome Leeds United on the opening day of the 2026-27 Premier League season.

Kick-off date/time: 22 August 2026 at 3:00 pm

How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / USA – NBC

How to watch online: UK – Cannot be streamed / USA – Peacock

Nottingham Forest preview: Glasner in at Forest

In the 2025-26 Premier League campaign, Nottingham Forest eventually comfortably survived after struggling for much of it amid a run to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.

That season saw them have Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and then Vitor Pereira in the dugout, with Pereira eventually steering them clear. He has now been replaced by former Crystal Palace boss Oliver Glasner, who won Palace’s first three trophies in their history, finishing by defeating Rayo Vallecano by a goal to nil in the UEFA Europa Conference League final in Leipzig in May.

Leeds preview: Time for evolution

Leeds United gained promotion back to the top-flight in the 2024-25 season, winning the Championship, and Daniel Farke, who was speculated to be on the verge of the sack, did an extremely good job. Leeds stayed up comfortably, while also reaching the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Questions over whether or not Farke would be able to adapt his style of football to become more effective in the top-flight, following his poor stints with Norwich City in the Premier League, were answered. Now is time, for many Leeds supporters, for them to become more proactive once again.

Nottingham Forest team news: Couple of absentees

Oliver Glasner has been wedded to the wing-back system throughout his managerial career and, despite the hosts' lack of out and out wing-backs and sizeable contingent on the wing, that is again expected to be the case.

One of the players perhaps most suited to that is Nicolo Savona but he is one of two confirmed absentees, alongside club captain Ryan Yates.

Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Sels; Milenkovic, Diomande, Murillo; Williams, Schlager, Dominguez, Aina; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White; Jesus

Unavailable: Savona (Injured), Yates (Injured)

Questionable: 

Nottingham Forest’s top FPL assets

Neco Williams (£5.0m) – Defender

Morgan Gibbs-White (£8.0m) – Midfielder

Igor Jesus (£6.0m) – Forward

Gameweek 1 captain pick: Morgan Gibbs-White

Leeds team news: Keeping it similar

Daniel Farke switched to a back three mid-way through last season to great success and that is expected to be the same once again but with three new signings, James Trafford, Tarek Muharemovic and Harry Wilson, all fitting in quite nicely.

The visitors are without key left wing-back Gabriel Gudmundsson, while Italy international attacker Willy Gnonto is also sidelined for the visitors.

Predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Trafford; Muharemovic, Rodon, Bijol; Bogle, Stach, Ampadu, Justin; Wilson, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin

Unavailable: Gudmundsson (Injured), Gnonto (Injured)

Questionable: Perri (Injured), Gruev (Injured)

Leeds' top FPL assets

Joe Rodon (£4.5m) – Defender

Harry Wilson (£6.5m) – Midfielder

Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£6.0m) – Forward

Gameweek 1 captain pick: Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Nottingham Forest vs Leeds prediction

Nottingham Forest will have a raucous crowd behind them and that will be further boosted by Oliver Glasner being in the dugout. His appointment is quite a significant coup, given that he has left a UEFA Europa League club to move to the City Ground. Leeds will travel to the City Ground with a belief that they can remain as difficult to beat as they were last year while balancing that against becoming more proactive and so both teams scoring seems a decent bet for this one on the opening day of the campaign.

Nottingham Forest vs Leeds tip: Both teams to score