Leeds vs Nottingham Forest Preview (Friday, 06.02.2026) Premier League:
Possible starting lineups:
Leeds:
Darlow; Bornauw, Rodon, Struijk; Bogle, Ampadu, Gruev, Justin; Stach, Okafor; Calvert-Lewin
Nottingham Forest:
Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Morato; Sangare, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Dominguez; Jesus
Leeds will welcome Nottingham Forest to Eland Road on Friday night in the opening match of the 25th round of the Premier League. The two teams are currently sharing the 16th place with 26 points, meaning that both teams have six-point advantage to 18th-placed West Ham, the first club in the drop zone. At the same time it means the situation is complicated as both teams are involved into the relegation battle.
I think Leeds fans are satisfied with the actual situation, particularly because they are newcomers in the Premier League. They were excellent during the festive period when recorded a series of seven unbeaten league matches. Nevertheless, the Whites were heavily beaten by Arsenal last weekend. The leaders demolished Leeds winning 4:0, but I don't think the defeat will impact the players confidence. Manager Daniel Farke will be eager for his side to get back on track and start controlling the distance between themselves and the drop zone. Farke has additional issues as some players are struggling with injuries. He will be without Jaka Bijol, Daniel James and Lukas Nmecha for this match, although they should return soon. Despite the high defeat on the last match, Farke should continue with five defender system.
As I already wrote above, Nottingham Forest have 26 points and they are just outside the drop zone. This is in contrast with their European form. But Playing in Europe is sometime very complicate, particularly for the teams outside Top-6. The current manager Sean Dyche must rotate the players, or he is risking injuries. The fatigue is another problem, some players are desperate for rest. But Nottingham Forest are not Arsenal or Manchester City, they haven't two players for each position. To be worse, Dyche has some missing players. John Victor, Matz Sels, Nicolo Savona, Chris Wood and Callum Hudson-Odoi are out injured, while Neco Williams is suspended after last round's sending off. It was a stupid decision, Crystal Palace converted the penalty, while Williams will serve suspension.
Leeds vs Nottingham Forest Prediction:
Despite the high defeat from Arsenal, I will say that Leeds are in solid form. They have just two defeats on the last 11 matches in the Premier League and the players confidence is high. On the other side Sean Dyche has some issues. I am sure he feels big pressure, club owner Marinakis expect Nottingham to be between the top teams. Like the previous season. But frequent managerial changes (Dyche is the third manager this season), the injury situation (best scorer Chris Wood missed the entire season due to knee problem) and limited roster are the reasons for the poor results. On top of that, Nottingham will be without two important players on Friday as Callum Hudson-Odoi is injured, while Neco Williams is suspended. In the time of VAR Technology, it was a stupid decision to save the goal with hand, hoping nobody will notice. Now he could serve a three-match ban. I think Leeds are closer to the victory.
Leeds vs Nottingham Forest Pick: Leeds to win @ 2.20 with Everygame
