Preview: FC Utrecht vs Nottingham Forest - prediction, team news, lineups

Nottingham Forest will be looking to boost their Europa League last-16 qualification hopes when they travel to the Netherlands to face FC Utrecht at Stadion Galgenwaard on Thursday night.

Both teams are aiming to bounce back from domestic setbacks at the weekend, with Forest losing at Everton in the Premier League and Utrecht sharing the spoils with FC Twente in the Eredivisie.

Match preview

After enjoying a three-match winning run in November, scoring exactly three goals in victories over Leeds United, Liverpool and Malmo, Nottingham Forest have since suffered two defeats in their last three fixtures in the Premier League (W1).

Three days after edging past basement club Wolves by a 1-0 scoreline, the Tricky Trees fell to a 3-0 away defeat against Sean Dyche’s former club Everton last weekend, a result which has seen them slip to 17th in the top-flight table and leaves them hovering just two points above the relegation zone.

Dyche is seeking a swift response from his players who “were nowhere near it on the physical side” against Everton, but success away from home is not a given on Thursday, as they have only won two of their 11 matches on the road across all competitions this season (D4 L5), including two draws in the Europa League with Real Betis (2-2) and Sturm Graz (0-0).

Competing in European competition for the first time in 30 years, Forest have collected eight points from their first five League Phase fixtures (W2 D2 L1) and sit 16th in the 36-team standings, two points behind the top seven and four points behind top spot with games against Utrecht, Braga and Ferencvaros remaining.

Forest, who are the only team yet to concede in the Europa League since Dyche’s arrival at the end of October (W2 D1), have won three of their previous four European meetings with Dutch opposition (L1) and are looking to win their first game in the Netherlands since beating PSV Eindhoven 2-1 in the second leg of a UEFA Cup second-round clash in October 1983.

Competing in the Europa League for the first time in 14 years, Utrecht are one of only five teams in this season’s competition who have failed to win any of their opening five League Phase fixtures, drawing one and losing four.

The Cupfighters claimed their solitary point from a 1-1 home draw with Porto on matchday four before suffering a 2-1 defeat at Real Betis a fortnight ago, leaving them in 32nd place in the 36-team table and five points behind the playoff places with games against Forest, Genk and Celtic left to play.

Just three victories in 16 competitive matches across all competitions have been posted by Ron Jans’s side (D5 L8), while Utrecht are also without a win in any of their last 16 major European games dating back to September 2004 - the longest-ever run by a Dutch team.

Utrecht are now preparing for just their third European encounter against English opposition, having drawn their previous two by a 0-0 scoreline against Liverpool in the 2010-11 Europa League.

The Cupfighters, who sit seventh in the Eredivisie and drew 1-1 with FC Twente last weekend, will be underdogs in Thursday’s clash with Forest, but they can at least take some comfort from the fact that they are unbeaten in their last six home games (W3 D3).

FC Utrecht Europa League form:

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FC Utrecht form (all competitions):

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Nottingham Forest Europa League form:

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Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):

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Team News

Utrecht will be without injured midfielder Davy van den Berg, while Victor Jensen, Noah Ohio, Emirhan Demircan and Kolbeinn Finnsson are all ineligible as they were omitted from the club’s Europa League squad.

Barkas Vasileios is available to start in goal after missing the last Europa League game through suspension, while Souffian El Karouani returned to full fitness in time to play the full 90 minutes against Twente last weekend and he could retain his starting spot at left-back.

Former West Ham and Borussia Dortmund striker Sebastien Haller has scored just one goal in 19 appearances for Utrecht this season and he faces competition from both Dani de Wit and David Min - who have netted six goals between them this term - for a start up front.

As for Nottingham Forest, Ola Aina, Douglas Luiz, Taiwo Awoniyi (all thigh), Oleksandr Zinchenko (hip), Dilane Bakwa (unspecified), Chris Wood and Angus Gunn (both knee) all remain out with injuries. Gunn and Awoniyi are also ineligible along with Omari Hutchinson and Jair Cunha who were not selected in the club’s Europa League squad.

Ryan Yates was withdrawn just 15 minutes after coming on as a substitute in Forest’s loss to Everton last weekend and the midfielder is not expected to be involved against Utrecht. Nicolas Dominguez could therefore be tasked with operating alongside Ibrahim Sangare in centre-midfield.

Key defender Murillo, who has been dealing with a hamstring issue and illness, has missed Forest’s last three games and is a doubt for Thursday, so Morato may continue at the heart of the defence alongside Nikola Milenkovic.

FC Utrecht possible starting lineup:

Barkas; Horemans, Van de Hoorn, Viergever, El Karouani; Bozdogan, Ongena, De Wit; Rodriguez, Min, Cathline

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Victor; Abbott, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Dominguez, Sangare; Ndoye, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi; Kalimuendo

We say: FC Utrecht 0-2 Nottingham Forest

Taking into account Utrecht’s struggles to grind out positive results, particularly on the continent, as well as the quality that Forest possess in their squad and their defensive record in Europe since the arrival of Dyche, we are backing the visitors to claim maximum points from what could prove to be a fairly routine win in the Netherlands.

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