Nottingham Forest head into the 2026/27 Premier League season with a new manager in cup-specialist Oliver Glasner, who will look to fire the club back in the right direction following a turbulent 2025/26 campaign.
Forest chopped and changed their way through four different managers last term, culminating in Vitor Pereira, who was surprisingly dismissed in July. In comes Glasner, fresh from leading Crystal Palace to Conference League glory, to spearhead a new chapter of consistency and progression. Well, that’s the plan anyway. Forest’s notoriously trigger-happy owner Evangelos Marinakis may have other ideas.
Read on for all of the latest Nottingham Forest stats to build up to the 2026/27 Premier League, plus the club’s opening fixtures, transfer business, tactical information, and more.
Nottingham Forest opening fixtures 2026/27 Premier League
Nottingham Forest begin the new Premier League campaign at home to Leeds on Saturday 22nd August, before the sides meet again three days later in the Carabao Cup.
Forest then travel to Anfield to face Liverpool, where they’ll aim to win at the ground for a third consecutive season.
Glasner’s side then welcome Tottenham to the City Ground before heading to Villa Park to face Aston Villa. A home clash with Coventry City rounds off their opening five fixtures, with the sides meeting in the Premier League for the first time this century.
| Date | Opponent | Kick-off |
|---|---|---|
| Saturday 22nd August | Leeds (H) | 3pm |
| Saturday 29th August | Liverpool (A) | 12.30pm |
| Saturday 5th September | Tottenham (H) | 3pm |
| Saturday 12th September | Aston Villa (A) | 3pm |
| Saturday 19th September | Coventry (A) | 5.30pm |
Nottingham Forest’s key players for 2026/27 Premier League
Nottingham Forest top Premier League Golden Boot contender: Igor Jesus
- Key stat: Igor Jesus finished as the joint-top goalscorer in the Europa League last season with seven goals.
Morgan Gibbs-White – more on him in a moment – gets an obvious mention after he scored 15 Premier League goals last season. But Forest fans will want to see an increase in numbers from Igor Jesus. The striker scored just six league goals last season, but sparkled in Europe, where he scored a Europa League joint-high seven goals en route to helping the Tricky Trees reach the semi-finals. The Brazilian has been prolific in pre-season and will now look to take this momentum into the new campaign.
Nottingham Forest primary playmaker: Morgan Gibbs-White
- Key stat: Morgan Gibbs-White scored 15 Premier League goals last season – only four players scored more – 12 of which came in 2026.
Morgan Gibbs-White was unfortunate to miss out on Thomas Tuchel’s 2026 World Cup squad after a superb second half to the 2025/26 season. The playmaker scored 12 goals and provided three assists in 18 Premier League appearances in 2026, playing a pivotal role in Forest’s survival. Across the full campaign, Gibbs-White netted 15 league goals, registered four assists, had 83 shots (32 on target), created 49 chances, and attempted 583 passes in the final third. The 26-year-old is now set to continue this electric form under new boss Glasner.
Nottingham Forest card magnet and top tackler: Neco Williams
- Key stat: Neco Williams made 96 tackles last season, picked up six yellow cards and one red.
Neco Williams made 96 tackles last season, second only to the now-departed Elliot Anderson at Forest. The full-back led his teammates for interceptions (47) and ranked third for blocks and clearances (119). He picked up six yellow cards – and one red – meaning he’s received 6+ yellows in three of the last four Premier League seasons.
Nottingham Forest rising star: Ousmane Diomande
- Key stat: The centre back has won two Portuguese titles, the domestic cup, and AFCON.
Nottingham Forest have bolstered their defence with the arrival of centre-back Ousmane Diomande for £34m from Sporting CP, who he helped win the club back-to-back league titles and reach the Champions League quarter-finals last season. He also played for the Ivory Coast at the 2026 World Cup and won AFCON in 2024. Still only 22, the centre-back has plenty of time to develop into a top-level defender, and Forest could provide the platform for him to take the next major step in his career.
Nottingham Forest 2026 summer transfers
Nottingham Forest’s biggest signing to date is the aformentioned Ousmane Diomande for £34m from Sporting CP on a four-year contract.
Central midfielder Xaver Schlager, who worked under Glasner at Wolfsburg, has joined from RB Leipzig, while attacking midfielder Gustavo Sa has completed a permanent transfer from Famalicao.
There’s no escaping the fact that Elliot Anderson is a huge loss in the middle of the park. The England international departed for Manchester City for a whopping £116m following two successful seasons at Forest. Centre-back David Carmo and goalkeeper Stefan Ortega have both left for Olympiacos.
| Incomings | Outgoings |
|---|---|
| Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP) | Elliot Anderson (Manchester City) |
| Gustavo Sa (Famalicao) | David Carmo (Olympiacos) |
| Xaver Schlager (RB Leipzig) | Joe Gardner (Falkirk) |
| Stefan Ortega (released, Olympiacos) | |
| Angus Gunn (released, SJ Earthquakes) | |
| Willy Boly (released) |
Nottingham Forest tactical analysis and formation
Nottingham Forest’s team stats (average per game in 2025/26 Premier League):
- Corners: 5.21
- Shots on target: 4.11
- Shots on target conceded: 4.29
- Offsides: 1.68
Oliver Glasner favoured a 3-4-3 formation during his time at Crystal Palace, and the Austrian could look to implement the same system at Nottingham Forest. As for the make-up of his starting 11, here’s how it could look.
Matz Sels, who shared the Golden Glove award in 2024/25, will continue between the sticks. Ahead of him, new signing Ousmane Diomande could slot straight into a three-man defence alongside Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo. Neco Williams and Ola Aina are likely to operate as the wing-backs in this system.
Ibrahim Sangare could anchor the midfield alongside either new signing Xaver Schlager, or Nicolas Dominguez or James McAtee, although Forest could still bring in another central midfielder before the window closes.
Further forward, Dan Ndoye and Morgan Gibbs-White are likely to support striker Igor Jesus, with Gibbs-White given the freedom to pull the strings behind the Brazilian. Chris Wood will challenge for the sole striker position.
Nottingham Forest manager analysis
Nottingham Forest pulled off a real managerial coup by luring AC MIlan-linked Oliver Glasner to the City Ground after he left Crystal Palace at the end of last season.
Glasner will go down as one of the greatest managers in Palace’s history after he led the club to FA Cup, Community Shield and, most recently, Conference League glory. Three exceptional achievements.
The Austrian will now look to work his magic at Forest, who endured a chaotic domestic campaign last season that was disrupted by the departures of four managers. Glasner will be tasked with steadying the ship and bringing some much needed stability to the club after such a turbulent period.
As mentioned in the section above, Glasner is likely to favour a 3-4-3 formation, having enjoyed considerable success with the system throughout his managerial career. However, he could adapt his approach to suit the players at his disposal, having previously stressed that he is not wedded to any particular formation.
| Manager | Team | P | W | D | L | Win % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oliver Glasner | Nottingham Forest | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |