Overview
No Nottingham Forest manager since John Baynes in 1925 has failed to win in his opening six games. However, nearly a century later, Ange Postecoglou joined the unwanted group after a failed run in the continental arena.
The former Tottenham Hotspur captain watched Midtjylland beat and overwhelm his side in set-pieces in the Europa League.
When Midtjylland's third goal was scored, some disappointed Forest fans shouted the slogan "you will be sacked tomorrow morning" towards Postecoglou. However, the Australian captain has maintained his familiar calmness amid the chaos at City Ground.
Although still in office, Chairman Evangelos Marinakis' decision to part ways with Nuno Espirito Santo to appoint Postecoglou has not yet brought positive results. Notably, 4 out of Forest's 5 Premier League points this season have come from the period when Nuno was in charge.
The defeat to Midtjylland extended Forest's forgettable run, right after a 1-0 home defeat to Premier League rookie Sunderland. Postecoglou has now suffered 11 defeats in the last 15 matches in the English top flight.
While Nottingham Forest struggled in the European arena, Newcastle had an impressive start in the Champions League in their second comeback. They scored 4 goals against Union SG without conceding. Anthony Gordon (double), Nickolt Wemade and Harvey Barnes scored in turn, bringing the "Magpies" an overwhelming victory.
A brilliant performance with 4 goals right in Belgium is something Eddie Howe must be looking forward to after last weekend's disappointment. Newcastle were then just a few minutes away from a fourth consecutive home win over Arsenal. However, they collapsed due to set pieces and suffered a bitter defeat against the "Gunners".
Two headers from Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes have left Newcastle with just one win in the first six games of the 2025-2026 Premier League season. Currently, the team at St James' Park is only one point and two places ahead of Forest in the bottom half of the rankings.
Having been beaten by Everton and Liverpool at home in recent months, Newcastle are facing the risk of their fourth defeat in five Premier League home games.
Head-to-head statistics also show that the possibility of sharing points is very low. Newcastle have won their last three Premier League games against Forest, and won eight of their nine visits to St James' Park, scoring an average of nearly three goals per game.
Personnel situation
Injuries continue to haunt Nottingham Forest, as mainstay centre-back Murillo was forced off in the first half due to a thigh injury in midweek. The possibility of him playing against Newcastle is almost zero.
With Murillo absent, Ange Postecoglou is likely to switch to a full-back formation, while arranging Nicolo Savona in the full-back position.
However, Forest's defense continues to suffer heavy losses as Ola Aina ( thigh injury) and Oleksandr Zinchenko ( foot injury) are unable to return, while Douglas Luiz is also absent due to hamstring pain.
After breaking the failed streak under Postecoglou with a late penalty in the match against Midtjylland, striker Chris Wood (33 years old) is likely to return to the starting lineup to replace Igor Jesus.
On the other side of the front line, young talent Nick Woltemade has scored in both of his first two home matches in the Premier League. Players who did the same in their first three games for Newcastle were the legends Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer.
Both Postecoglou and Eddie Howe can sympathize with each other on personnel in defense. Tino Livramento was forced off on a stretcher in the loss to Arsenal and will be out for about 8 weeks with a knee injury.
Expected lineup:
Newcastle United: Pope, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall, Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton, Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Savona, Morato, Milenkovic, Williams, Dominguez, Anderson, Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson- od odoi, Wood.
The match between Newcastle and Nottingham takes place at 20:00 on October 5 (Vietnam time).
