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Sports Mole previews Thursday's Europa League clash between Nottingham Forest and FC Midtjylland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Still searching for his first victory as Nottingham Forest head coach, Ange Postecoglou prepares his team for a Europa League encounter with FC Midtjylland at the City Ground on Thursday night.

While Forest were forced to share the spoils with Real Betis in their opening League Phase fixture last week, their Danish counterparts secured all three points against Sturm Graz on matchday one.

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Match preview

The decision made by Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to part ways with Nuno Espirito Santo and replace him with Ange Postecoglou is yet to yield positive results, as the Tricky Trees have failed to win any of their opening five matches across all competitions with their new head coach at the helm (D2 L3), conceding 10 goals in the process.

Forest were “not ruthless enough” in the eyes of Postecoglou as they suffered a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Sunderland in the Premier League last weekend, leaving them 17th in the table with just five points from their opening six top-flight games.

Postecoglou came close to registering his first Forest win last week, as his team were leading 2-1 against Real Betis heading into the final five minutes of their opening Europa League fixture in Spain courtesy of two goals from new signing Igor Jesus, but ex-Man United winger Antony scored a late equaliser to salvage a draw.

Forest are now preparing for their first European meeting with Danish opposition and their first home game in a major European competition since March 1996 when they suffered a heavy 5-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Cup.

Most teams would welcome a return to home soil, but the Tricky Trees has not experienced a lot of success in recent matches at the City Ground, as they head into Thursday’s contest having lost five of their last seven home games without scoring (W1 D1).

FC Midtjylland had not won the opening fixture in any of their previous four European campaigns (D2 L2) before securing a 2-0 home victory over Sturm Graz a fortnight ago.

Last season’s Danish Superliga runners-up were gifted an early lead courtesy of a bizarre own goal from goalkeeper Oliver Christensen, and they had to wait until the 88th minute for defender Ousmane Diao to seal the win with a glancing header.

Midtjylland have put together their longest-ever European winning run (W6 - including qualifiers) and they have since extended their winning streak in all competitions to four matches under 39-year-old head coach Mike Tullberg, who was appointed at the beginning of September.

The Wolves will only have around 48 hours to prepare for Thursday’s clash with Forest, though, after they came from behind to beat Randers 2-1 on home soil in the Danish Superliga on Monday, a result which keeps them in second place and just two points behind leaders AGF after 10 games.

Midtjylland have come up against English opposition just four times previously in major European competition, winning only one of those meetings against Louis van Gaal’s Manchester United (2-1) in the Europa League in February 2016.

Nottingham Forest Europa League form:

D

Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):

L L L D D L

FC Midtjylland Europa League form:

W

FC Midtjylland form (all competitions):

W L W W W W

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Team News

Nottingham Forest are still having to cope without injured defender Ola Aina (hamstring), and they could also be without Douglas Luiz and Murillo who are both nursing thigh problems, while Omari Hutchinson has been omitted from the club’s Europa League squad.

Postecoglou might not make changes in defence, but Ibrahim Sangrage and Morgan Gibbs-White could both be recalled in midfield at the expense of Nicolas Dominguez and James McAtee, while winger Callum Hudson-Odoi will be looking to force his way back into the first XI.

After scoring a brace against Real Betis, Igor Jesus could become just the second player to score in both of his first two appearances in major European competition for Forest after Joe Baker in October 1967 in the Fairs Cup. The Brazilian is in line to replace Chris Wood up front.

As for Midtjylland, Ovie Ejeheri (ineligible) and Mikel Gogorza (hamstring) are both unavailable for selection, but Dario Osorio has recovered from a muscle problem and watched on as an unused substitute in Monday’s win over Randers.

Former Bournemouth midfielder Philip Billing is expected to continue in centre-midfield, while ex-Fulham defender Kevin Mbabu will hope to return at right wing-back as Franculino Dju - who has a team-high nine goals this term - partners Junior Brumado in attack.

Brazilian left-back Paulinho has made 28 major European appearances for the Wolves and should he feature on Thursday, he would become the club’s all-time record appearance-maker in Europe, overtaking former teammate Joel Andersson.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Morato, Zinchenko; Sangare, Anderson; Bakwa, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus

FC Midtjylland possible starting lineup:

Olafsson; Diao, Erlic, Sorensen; Mbabu, Castillo, Billing, Simsir, Paulinho; Franculino, Brumado

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We say: Nottingham Forest 2-1 FC Midtjylland

 

Midtjylland have already won three European away matches in Europa League qualifying this season and they will back themselves to pull off an upset on Thursday against a Forest side who are not firing on all cylinders under Postecoglou.

However, the Tricky Trees will be regarded as favourites for this one and they should field a strong enough side to outscore the visitors and claim their first three points in the League Phase.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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