Overview
Oliver Glasner's reign at Nottingham Forest did not start as expected when they suffered a 0-1 defeat to Leeds United right at home. The match was quite balanced and both teams had difficulty creating a difference from live ball situations.
Forest tried hard to find a goal but could not penetrate Leeds' defense. When the match seemed to end in a draw, Anton Stach took a successful free kick just 2 minutes before the end of the match, bringing 3 points for the away team.
This defeat caused Glasner to have an unfavorable debut at Forest. The Austrian coach took over the team with impressive baggage, especially the Conference League championship with Crystal Palace last season. However, he still needs time to make Forest operate according to his philosophy.
In the pre-season period, Forest once defeated formidable opponents such as Bayer Leverkusen and Brest. Those results bring optimistic signals, but the Premier League opening match shows that Glasner still has a lot of work to do if he wants to help the team maintain stability.
Pressure at City Ground is also a problem Glasner must consider. He has become Forest's fifth coach in less than a year. Continuous changes on the coaching bench make it difficult for the club to build long-term stability.
Another question lies in the patience of owner Evangelos Marinakis. Forest has experienced too many fluctuations in a short time, so the negative results in the early stages of the season may put more pressure on Glasner. The Austrian coach needs to quickly create positive signals, especially at home.
Leeds entered the season with a more comfortable mentality after the victory at City Ground. They once had a fairly stable season returning to the Premier League when they finished 14th with 47 points, only 5 points behind Chelsea in 10th place.
However, Leeds understands that their second season in the Premier League could bring other challenges.
Coach Daniel Farke has had more quality additions in the summer. Goalkeeper James Trafford and center-backs Nico Elvedi and Tarik Muharemovic are expected to help Leeds improve their defense, which conceded 56 goals last season.
The recent victory against Forest brought excitement to Leeds. Not only winning all 3 points, Farke's team also kept a clean sheet and made it difficult for the opponent for most of the match.
Recent head-to-head record is also leaning towards Leeds. They have won 4 out of 5 recent encounters with Forest.
Expected lineup:
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Abott, Diomande, Murillo, Aina, Schlager, Dominguez, Netz, Hutchison, Hudson-Odoi, Wood.
Leeds United: Trafford, Elvedi, Bijol, Muharemovic, Justin, Byram, Stach, Longstaff, Ramazani, James, Nmecha.
The match between Nottingham Forest and Leeds United takes place at 2:00 AM on August 26 (Vietnam time).
