Preview:Newcastle United vs Nottingham Forest - prediction, team news, lineups

Having officially suffered the worst start of any Nottingham Forest head coach in 100 years, Ange Postecoglou's own Nottingham Forest fans have already turned on him ahead of Sunday's Premier League clash with Newcastle United at St James' Park.

The Australian's side were condemned to a sobering 3-2 home loss to FC Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday, shortly after the Magpies crushed Union SG 4-0 in Champions League action.

Match preview

No man since John Baynes in 1925 had ever failed to win their opening six games as Nottingham Forest head coach, but almost exactly a century later, Europa League winner Postecoglou has joined that unwanted party after a continental capitulation.

The former Tottenham Hotspur boss saw Midtjylland batter and bully his Forest side from set-pieces in Thursday's Europa League tie, where the Danes scored from a corner and a free kick in the first half and survived a late scare when Chris Wood converted a late penalty.

When Midtjylland's third goal went in, members of the disgruntled Forest faithful even went as far as to direct chants of 'You're getting sacked in the morning' towards their own manager, who cut a quintessentially stoic figure amid the City Ground carnage.

Postecoglou is - of course - still in his post, but Evangelos Marinakis's decision to part ways with Nuno Espirito Santo in favour of the Celtic treble winner is yet to bear fruit, especially considering that four of their five Premier League points this season were won under the Portuguese.

Defeat to Midtjylland came after Forest succumbed to an equally agonising 1-0 home loss to newly-promoted Sunderland in the Premier League, leaving Postecoglou with an unsightly 11 defeats on his record from his last 15 top-flight games, only one of which has ended in victory.

As Forest floundered in Europe, Newcastle got off the mark in the Champions League at the second attempt in particularly ruthless fashion, hitting Union SG for four without reply as Anthony Gordon (two), Nick Woltemade and Harvey Barnes made the net bulge.

A fabulous four-goal showing in Belgium was just what the doctor ordered for Eddie Howe's side after a dose of heartbreak last Sunday, where the Magpies were minutes away from a fourth successive home win over Arsenal, only to succumb to the Gunners' dead-ball devastation.

Mikel Merino and Gabriel Magalhaes's headers left Newcastle with just one win from six attempts in the 2025-26 Premier League season, and the hosts find themselves just one point and two places better off than Forest in the bottom half of the table at the time of writing.

Also taken down at home by Everton and Liverpool in recent months, Newcastle are at risk of suffering a fourth loss from five Premier League games at St James' Park, where the Magpies have not played out a single top-flight draw in 2025 so far.

Head-to-head results suggest that a stalemate could be off the menu here too, as Newcastle have won their last three Premier League games against Forest and eight of their last nine league matches at home to the Tricky Trees, averaging nearly three goals per game in that time.

Newcastle United Premier League form:

Newcastle United form (all competitions):

Nottingham Forest Premier League form:

Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):

Team News

Injury was added to insult for Nottingham Forest against Midtjylland on Thursday night, as defensive rock Murillo was substituted in the first half after picking up a thigh injury, and an appearance on Sunday is surely out of the question.

Postecoglou should switch to a four-man backline to cope with the absence of Murillo, introducing Nicolo Savona to a full-back slot in the process, but fellow defenders Ola Aina (thigh) and Oleksandr Zinchenko (groin) are still absent alongside Douglas Luiz (hamstring).

Finally breaking his duck under Postecoglou with a late spot kick on Thursday, 33-year-old Wood is primed to replace Igor Jesus at the tip of the attack against his former employers, whose shiny new centre-forward can join an exclusive club here.

Indeed, hotshot Woltemade has scored in each of his first two Premier League home games, and the only players to do so in their first three for Newcastle are the legendary Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer.

Postecoglou and Howe can empathise on the defensive injuries front, though as Tino Livramento was carried off on a stretcher during the defeat to Arsenal and is now facing approximately eight weeks on the sidelines with that knee concern.

Livramento will be kept company in the treatment room by fellow knee victim Yoane Wissa, but Jacob Ramsey has made a quicker-than-expected recovery from an ankle problem and is likely to be available for selection.

Newcastle United possible starting lineup:

Pope; Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall; Guimaraes, Tonali, Joelinton; Murphy, Woltemade, Gordon

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Savona, Morato, Milenkovic, Williams; Dominguez, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood

We say: Newcastle United 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Less rest + the possible absence of Murillo = a miserable day out for Nottingham Forest, who have an appalling record at St James' Park and - unlike Arsenal - will surely not banish that curse on Sunday.

The Magpies were firing on all cylinders in Belgium and have the resources required to exploit Forest's set-piece weaknesses, so the hosts have our vote to prevail and prolong Postecoglou's painful wait for a first win.

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