NOTTINGHAM FOREST: PREVIEW

Sunderland will play Nottingham Forest of the Premier League at the Pinatar Arena in their first of two preseason games in Spain and third overall.

LAST SEASON

Forest escaped second season syndrome and finished 17th in the Premier League, despite a four-point deduction for breaking PSR regulations. In their 38 league games, they won nine, drew nine, and lost twenty. They never won a game by more than two goals, hence their most notable triumphs came against Aston Villa (2-0), Newcastle United (1-3), West Ham United (2-0), Fulham (3-1) and Sheffield United (1-3). Fulham defeated them 5-0 at Craven Cottage in December. The eventual victors, Manchester United, eliminated them in the fifth round of the FA Cup, and Burnley eliminated them in the second round of the League Cup. Former Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Nuno Espírito Santo took over as manager in December after Steve Cooper’s dismissal.

We did not have a great season last year, finishing 16th, a far cry from 6th in 2022/23. Our largest victory was a 5-0 thrashing of Southampton in September, while our biggest defeats were at the hands of Middlesbrough (0-4) and Blackburn Rovers (1-5). We were eliminated from the FA Cup in the third round by Newcastle United, while Crewe Alexandra defeated us on penalties in the first round of the League Cup. Tony Mowbray was fired in December, Michael Beale replaced him in February, and Mike Dodds served as interim head coach for the balance of the season.

SQUADS

Forest’s goalkeepers are USA international Matt Turner, who played for Arsenal and represented his country at the 2024 Copa America, Belgium international Matz Sels, who previously played for Newcastle, and the recently signed Carlos Miguel, who spent his entire career in Brazil before moving to Trentside.

The Reds’ centre-backs include Andrew Omobamidele, who has nine caps for Ireland and won the Championship with Norwich City in 2021, Joe Worral, who spent the second half of last season on loan with Beşiktaş, Willy Boly, an Ivory Coast international who has also won the Championship (with Wolves in 2018), and Murillo, Forest’s Player of the Year in his debut season. Their left backs include Harry Toffolo, a 28-year-old who has played for a number of English football clubs, including Lincoln City and Huddersfield Town, and Omar Richards, a former Reading and Bayern Munich player who was on loan at Olympiacos in 2023-24. Neco Williams and Ola Aina, the right backs, complete the defence. Williams is a Wales international who previously played for Liverpool, whereas Aina began his career with Chelsea and now plays for the Nigeria national team.

Their defensive alternatives in the midfield include Ivory Coast international Ibrahim Sangaré and former Palmeiras player Danilo. Nicolás Domínguez, Elliot Anderson, Ryan Yates, and Lewis O’Brien are their primary choices. Domínguez is an Argentina international, Anderson arrived from Newcastle this summer, Yates has a permanent contract with Forest, and O’Brien was on loan at Middlesbrough last season. Morgan Gibbs-White completes their midfield options, but he is more attacking and has previously played for Wolves.

Going ahead, their alternatives on the left flank are Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has three caps for England, and Alex Mighten, who played for KV Kortrijk and Port Vale last season. On the right wing, they have Anthony Elanga, Josh Bowler, and Eric da Silva Moreira, a new signing from St Pauli. Elanga is a Swedish international from Manchester United’s system, while Bowler spent the previous season in South Wales with Cardiff City. Forest’s forwards include Taiwo Awoniyi, who has eight caps for Nigeria, Chris Wood, their top goalscorer last season with 15 goals in all competitions, New Zealand international Emmanuel Dennis, who has the same number of caps for Nigeria as Awoniyi and was at İstanbul Başakşehir and Watford last term, and Ui-Jo Hang, a full South Korean international who has never played a competitive fixture despite being with Forest for two years.

We have so far signed two players. Simon Moore, a 34-year-old goalkeeper who most recently played for Coventry City, was the first to arrive, followed by Alan Browne, a Republic of Ireland international who had previously played over 400 games for Preston North End, primarily as a midfielder. Both should appear in preseason at some time. Browne warmed up against South Shields but did not appear in either of the squads against them or Gateshead, so he appears to be on the verge of making his debut in red and white.

Here’s our whole roster for the trip to Spain: Patterson, Moore, Chibueze, Cirkin, O’Nien, Hume, Alese, Hjelde, Pembele, Anderson, Triantis, Huggins, Seelt, Neil, Browne, Rigg, Ekwah, Embleton, Matete, Mundle, Aouchiche, Watson, Clarke, Jobe, Roberts, Bennette, Ba, Mayenda, Rusyn, Hemir.

(Ballard was also scheduled to travel, but he had to have a small treatment due to an injury received against South Shields, thus he will not travel).

FORM

The Tricky Trees began their preseason fixtures on the same day as we did, winning 3-0 away to newly promoted League Two club Chesterfield. They won two of their previous four Premier League games (against Burnley and Sheffield United) and lost two (against Chelsea and Manchester City).

Le Bris got off to a mixed start as our new manager, winning his first preseason game away to South Shields 5-0, but then losing 2-1 to National League side Gateshead. Our previous three games, against Sheffield Wednesday, Watford, and Millwall, all ended in losses.

THE VENUE

Both of our matches in Spain will be held at the neutral Pinatar Arena. It seats 3,000 and is frequently used for friendly matches and youth internationals.

“Unexpected Twist: Ex-Aston Villa and Liverpool Ace Joins Forces with Arsenal and Chelsea Legend, Alongside £24.8m Wolves Flop!”

PREDICTION

In a competitive match, Forest would most certainly win, but as this is a friendly, I’m not anticipating that. It will most likely be high-scoring, as most preseason games are, thus I expect a 2-2 tie with us gaining the lead before Nottingham Forest gets into the game.

In other news, “Unexpected Twist: Ex-Aston Villa and Liverpool Ace Joins Forces with Arsenal and Chelsea Legend, Alongside £24.8m Wolves Flop!”