Preview: Nottingham Forest vs Estoril Praia - prediction, team news, lineups

Nottingham Forest and Estoril Praia will both continue their pre-season preparations ahead of the 2025-26 season when they meet on Wednesday night.

The Garibaldis have drawn two and lost one of their three friendly outings, while the Canaries have won one and lost three of their four games.

Match preview

Nottingham Forest recorded a remarkable 2024-25 Premier League campaign, climbing from back-to-back relegation battles in 2022-23 and 2023-24 to placing seventh and securing European football.

While the Garibaldis will be delighted with the seventh-placed finish, it could have been much better for Nuno Espirito Santo's side if not for their slump in the second half of the season.

Forest won just six of their last 16 fixtures, alongside three draws and seven defeats, meaning they fell from third in the table to narrowly missing out on the top five and Champions League football by just one point.

Ahead of an action-packed campaign with the added stress of competing on the European stage, Espirito Santo would have been hoping for a vastly improved showing in their pre-season fixtures.

However, Forest drew their opening two friendlies 0-0, with Chesterfield and AS Monaco, followed by a 3-1 loss to Fulham in their most recent match.

Desperate to end that winless streak, Forest will take on Estoril Praia on Wednesday in their fourth friendly game, followed by matches against Birmingham City, Fiorentina and Al Qadsah before their season opener against Brentford.

Estoril also improved in 2024-25 as they climbed to eighth in Liga Portugal after 13th and 14th-placed finishes in the prior two campaigns, but they have similarly struggled during pre-season.

The Canaries won their opening friendly against Belenenses 2-1, but they have since suffered 3-2 losses to Maritimo and Sporting B and a 2-1 defeat to Alverca.

Aiming to snap that streak in their final pre-season friendly ahead of their season opener against Estrela Amadora, Estoril will be hopeful of a victory on Wednesday.

Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):

Estoril Praia form (all competitions):

Team News

Nottingham Forest will be without Nicolas Dominguez for Wednesday's clash due to a meniscus injury that is expected to keep the midfielder out of action until at least September.

Espirito Santo may decide to make numerous changes to the team that started in the defeat to Fulham last time out, meaning the likes of Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo could start.

As for Estoril Praia, Xeka remains doubtful having failed to appear since early April due to a ligament injury, though the midfielder may be given limited minutes to build fitness ahead of the start of the season.

Yanis Begraoui and Alejandro Marques both scored 11 league goals last season, and the attacking duo could start alongside each other on Wednesday.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina; Yates, Sangare, Gibbs-White; Jesus, Wood, Hudson-Odoi

Estoril Praia possible starting lineup:

Robles; Boma, Bacher, Amaral; P Carvalho, Holsgrove, Orellana, Costa; Begraoui, J Carvalho; Marques

We say: Nottingham Forest 3-1 Estoril Praia

Nottingham Forest have had a slow start to pre-season, but with a much stronger squad than Wednesday's opposition, we believe the hosts will win this one.

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