Nottingham Forest v Fenerbahce preview
Following a 3-0 win in Istanbul in his first match in charge last Thurday, Vitor Pereira is poised to guide Nottingham Forest to the Europa League last 16 in his third game at the helm.
Murillo, Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White scored to put Forest on the brink of continuing their European campaign, making their home leg a matter of avoiding a calamitous performance before a potentially crucial league trip to Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.
“If I could, I would change 11 players,” said Pereira. “[Squad members] deserve it, because they are working very hard to improve and show me that they are in a condition to help.
“It’s not possible, because we face a strong team and we cannot risk losing our balance. But we need energy… it is difficult to keep the press and intensity we want to play at [without that].
“I will make some changes. In three days, we play again. I need to think about everything, not just the [Fenerbahce] game.”
Fenerbahce endured a difficult five days as their four-match winning run in all competitions came to an end with defeat to Forest and a 1-1 draw at home to relegation-threatened Kasimpasa on Monday.
Domenico Tedesco’s side took a 95th-minute lead against 10 players but conceded a 101st-minute equaliser, leaving them immediately behind leaders Galatasaray by five points in the Super Lig.
“Nothing is over for us yet, because we are going to England,” said Tedesco. “We have the determination and desire to achieve a miracle there.
“We are not thinking [we will not qualify] because we are away from home – that would be a mistake.
“What’s important for me is that we have this belief among the players. We need to do this more calmly and enjoy football. My job is also to relieve the tension on my players.”
Tek ses, tek yürek! #İnanFenerbahçe pic.twitter.com/JMDEXOymO3
— Fenerbahçe SK (@Fenerbahce) February 25, 2026
Nottingham Forest v Fenerbahce team news
Centre-back Murillo returned from injury for Forest in the first leg but goalkeeper John Victor, defenders Willy Boly and Nicolo Savona and striker Chris Wood remain out with knee injuries.
Matz Sels is a doubt with a hip injury, so new signing Stefan Ortega could continue in goal.
Goalkeeper Ederson (hamstring) and defenders Caglar Soyuncu (muscular), Jayden Oosterwolde (groin) and Milan Skriniar (adductor) are out for Fenerbahce.
Midfielder Edson Alvarez is expected to be sidelined for around six weeks following ankle surgery and forward Talisca has a hamstring issue.
Former Manchester United midfielder Fred is suspended but new signings Matteo Guendouzi, N’Golo Kante and Sidiki Cherif made their European debuts for the Yellow Canaries in the first leg.
Nottingham Forest v Fenerbahce predicted lineups
Nottingham Forest starting XI: Stefan Ortega, Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Neco Williams, Ibrahim Sangare, Elliot Anderson, Omari Hutchinson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus
Fenerbahce starting XI: Ederson Moraes, Nelson Semedo, Caglar Soyuncu, Jayden Oosterwolde, Levent Mercan, Ismail Yuksek, Matteo Guendouzi, Anthony Musaba, Marco Asensio, Dorgeles Nene, Anderson Talisca
How to watch Nottingham Forest v Fenerbahce: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Thursday is at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and the Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through Discovery Plus, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Nottingham Forest v Fenerbahce stats
- This is Forest’s first European knockout stage tie since their 1995/96 quarter-final defeat in this competition against eventual champions Bayern, losing 7-2 on aggregate
- Only Ludogorets’ Petar Stanic can match Igor Jesus’s tally of seven goals in this season’s competition
- Forest’s last-gasp 1-0 defeat to Liverpool on Sunday meant they have gone more than 265 minutes without a home goal in all competitions, also drawing 0-0 with Pereira’s former club, Wolves
- Pereira was Fenerbahce boss between 2015 and 2016 and in 2021, leading them to the Turkish Cup final in the first of those spells
- Former Netherlands striker Pierre van Hooijdonk played for both clubs, scoring 36 league goals in just over two seasons with Forest to help the club earn promotion to the Premier League in 1997/98 before top-scoring for Fenerbahce in 2003/04 with 24 league goals as they won the Turkish title
- Both of Fenerbahce’s defeats across their last 13 matches in all competitions have come against English clubs, also losing 1-0 at home to Aston Villa on January 22
- Talisca and Kerem Akturkoglu have accounted for eight of Fenerbahce’s 10 goals in this season’s Europa League, each scoring four times
- The absent Talisca’s total of 13 attempts on target is the most of any player involved
- Only Lyon (61.4%) have averaged more possession in the 2025/26 Europa League than Fenerbahce (59.2%)
- Bologna (29) and Young Boys (22) are the only teams to have been adjudged offside more often than Fenerbahce (21)
