Nottingham Forest host FC Midtjylland at the City Ground on Thursday night in the first leg of their Europa League last-16 tie.
The Premier League side will also be seeking revenge after suffering a 3-2 home defeat against the Danish club earlier in the competition during the League Phase.
Forest are competing in European football for the first time in more than 30 years, but they were unable to secure automatic qualification for the last 16. The Tricky Trees finished 13th in the League Phase after recording four wins, two draws and two defeats across their eight matches.
That meant a playoff tie against Turkish giants Fenerbahce, but Forest produced an impressive display across the two legs. A surprise 3-0 victory away from home in the first leg put them firmly in control before a 2-1 defeat in the return fixture still saw them progress 4-2 on aggregate.
However, Forest’s form has dipped since that success. They are currently on a four-match winless run in all competitions, which includes a 2-1 defeat away to Brighton and a 2-2 draw against Manchester City.
Those results have left them hovering just above the Premier League relegation zone on goal difference, meaning domestic survival remains the club’s main priority.
Nevertheless, Forest will still aim to make progress in Europe and are attempting to reach the quarter-finals of a European competition for the first time since the 1995-96 UEFA Cup.
Midtjylland have been one of the surprise teams of this season’s Europa League. The Danish side finished third in the 36-team League Phase table after collecting 19 points from their eight matches to secure automatic qualification for the last 16.
They recorded victories against Forest, Sturm Graz, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Celtic, Genk and Dinamo Zagreb during the group stage, with their only defeat coming away to Roma.
Team news for Nottingham Forest v FC Midtjylland
Nottingham Forest will be without several players due to injury. Chris Wood, Nicolo Savona, John Victor and Willy Boly are all sidelined with knee problems.
January signing Luca Netz is also unavailable as he was not included in the club’s Europa League squad.
Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega is being assessed ahead of kickoff after missing the draw against Manchester City with a calf issue. If he is unavailable, Matz Sels is ready to continue in goal.
Vitor Pereira may recall Callum Hudson-Odoi and Omari Hutchinson to provide natural width in attack, while Igor Jesus is expected to lead the line. The Brazilian has scored seven goals in eight Europa League matches this season.
Midtjylland will be without top scorer Franculino, who has 21 goals this season but is sidelined through injury. Mikel Gogorza is also unavailable, while winger Dario Osorio is suspended due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Junior Brumado and Gue-sung Cho are among the players competing for a place in attack, while Kevin Mbabu and Philip Billing are expected to retain their positions in the starting lineup.
Expected line-ups for Nottingham Forest v FC Midtjylland
Nottingham Forest: Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus
FC Midtjylland: Olafsson; Erlic, Bech Sorensen, Diao; Mbabu, Billing, Castillo, Bak; Simsir; Cho, Brumado
Where to watch Nottingham Forest v FC Midtjylland: TV channel, online stream
The match will be shown live in the United Kingdom on TNT Sports.
Fans can also stream the match online using the Discovery+ platform across mobile devices, tablets and smart TVs.
Kickoff at the City Ground is scheduled for 8:00pm GMT on Thursday.
The stats for Nottingham Forest v FC Midtjylland
- Nottingham Forest finished 13th in the Europa League League Phase
- Forest defeated Fenerbahce 4-2 on aggregate in the playoff round
- Midtjylland finished third in the League Phase with 19 points
- The Danish side beat Forest 3-2 earlier in the competition
- Three or more goals have been scored in seven of Forest’s Europa League matches this season
Prediction for Nottingham Forest v FC Midtjylland
Nottingham Forest
2
–
1
FC Midtjylland
Both sides have shown a tendency to be involved in high-scoring Europa League matches this season, and Midtjylland already demonstrated their attacking threat against Forest earlier in the campaign. The hosts will hope home advantage helps them gain control of the tie, with a tough away trip up next.
