Two bottom-half clubs from last season will be eager to kick-start their Premier League campaigns strongly when Nottingham Forest and Leeds United clash at the City Ground on Saturday.
Premier League football finally returns this week with Gameweek 1 of the 2026/27 season. The action on Saturday begins with the match between Hull City and Manchester United at the MKM Stadium before continuing with three simultaneous games, including Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United at the City Ground.
Nottingham Forest will embark on a new phase in the Premier League after appointing Oliver Glasner as the new head coach. However, the Tricky Trees have not been highly active in the market, signing Steven Benda, Ousmane Diomande, and Xaver Schlager. Meanwhile, Elliot Anderson has been the most notable departure, with the Englishman joining Manchester City.
Glasner’s men have been impressive during their pre-season campaign, winning five of their nine outings. The busy campaign has given the Nottingham Forest players the opportunity to get accustomed to the Austrian tactician’s system, and they approach the new season in impressive form.
On the other hand, Leeds United’s progress under Daniel Farke has continued during the off-season. The Whites have been impressive in their pre-season campaign, losing only one of their six games while clinching four wins (D1). They have also been active in the market, signing Harry Wilson, James Trafford, Tarik Muharemovic, and Nico Elvedi to upgrade their squad.
The corresponding fixture last season saw Nottingham Forest come from a goal down to beat Leeds United 3-1, with Ibrahim Sangare, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Elliot Anderson finding the back of the net. The Hard Tackle looks closer at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Nottingham Forest
Oliver Glasner barely has any injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s latest fixture. The Nottingham Forest manager will be bereft of the services of only one first-team player vs Leeds United, with Nicolo Savona recovering from a knee injury that will keep him in the treatment room until next month.
Matz Sels is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Nottingham Forest lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him vs Leeds United on Saturday. The central defensive unit will feature Ousmane Diomande, Nikola Milenkovic, and Murillo. Meanwhile, Ola Aina and Neco Williams will start as the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will provide width in the final third and protect the three centre-backs. As for the midfield unit, Xaver Schlager will line up alongside Ibrahim Sangare in the double pivot, hoping to keep things tight in the middle of the park. Finally, Igor Jesus will lead the line for Nottingham Forest against Leeds United, with Morgan Gibbs-White and Dan Ndoye providing the creative impetus from the advanced areas.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Sels; Diomande, Milenkovic, Murillo; Aina, Schlager, Sangare, Neco Williams; Gibbs-White, Ndoye; Jesus
Leeds United
Like his counterpart in the Nottingham Forest dugout, Daniel Farke does not have many pressing issues to worry about ahead of the trip to the City Ground. The Leeds United head coach will be without only four first-team players on Saturday.
Gabriel Gudmundsson is the notable absentee, with the Swedish international recovering from a hamstring injury. Wilfried Gnonto (thigh), Ilia Gruev (knee), and Lucas Perri (hamstring) are also in the treatment room, though the latter is closing in on joining Torino.
James Trafford is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Leeds United lining up in a 3-4-3 formation in front of him vs Nottingham Forest on Saturday. The central defensive unit will feature Joe Rodon, Jaka Bijol, and Tarik Muharemovic. Meanwhile, Jayden Bogle and James Justin will start as the two wing-backs.
The wide duo will provide width in the final third and protect the three centre-backs. As for the midfield unit, there is no looking past Anton Stach and Ethan Ampadu, with the duo keeping things tight in the middle of the park. Finally, Dominic Calvert-Lewin will spearhead the Leeds United attack, with Brenden Aaronson and Harry Wilson being the two wide attackers.
Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Trafford; Rodon, Bijol, Muharemovic; Bogle, Stach, Ampadu, Justin; Wilson, Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest have won their last four home league games against Leeds United, while in the top-flight they are unbeaten in 14 against the Whites at the City Ground (W7 D7) since losing 2-0 in 1971/72. Meanwhile, Leeds have only faced Nottingham Forest in their opening league game of the season once before; they won 1-0 in 1991/92 under Howard Wilkinson, winning the top-flight title that campaign.
- Nottingham Forest beat Brentford 3-1 in Gameweek 1 in the 2025/26 season, last winning their opening league game in consecutive seasons in 2016/17 and 2017/18 in the EFL Championship.
- Leeds United have lost their opening game in just two of their last 18 top-flight seasons (W9 D7), losing to Liverpool in 2020/21 and Manchester United in 2021/22.
- Only Liverpool (-24) and Wolves (-22) saw a bigger decrease in their final points total between the 2024/25 and 2025/26 Premier League seasons than Nottingham Forest (-21, 65 to 44); however, only four sides won more points across their final 10 top-flight games last term than the Tricky Trees (17).
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored 14 Premier League goals last season, his second-most in a top-flight campaign after 16 in 2020/21. The English striker contested the most aerial duels in the competition last term (317) and made the fourth most runs in behind the opponent’s defensive line (347).
Player to Watch
Harry Wilson
While Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Igor Jesus, and Morgan Gibbs-White were viable candidates for this section, we have picked Harry Wilson as the Player to Watch for Saturday’s Premier League clash between Nottingham Forest and Leeds United at the City Ground.
The Welsh international was directly involved in 17 Premier League goals last season (10 goals, 7 assists), with only eight players registering more. Meanwhile, only Antoine Semenyo (+5.9) and Junior Kroupi (+4.7) exceeded their xG tally by more than the Welshman (+4.2) in 2025/26. His addition should transform Leeds United, and he will be Daniel Farke’s go-to player in the final third this weekend.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest 2-2 Leeds United
Two of the most in-form Premier League teams based on pre-season form will lock horns this weekend, and we can expect a closely contested affair at the City Ground. However, Nottingham Forest will take heart from Leeds United’s underwhelming form on their travels in the 2025/26 season.
Only Wolverhampton Wanderers (6) and Burnley (9) won fewer away points in 2025/26 than United (15). Despite that, the Whites lost only two of their final 12 on the road (W1 D9) and drew the joint-most away matches across Europe’s top-five leagues last term (9, level with Real Betis). That may be the benchmark for Daniel Farke’s men, and they should produce a spirited showing to earn a point at the City Ground.
