Preview: Nottingham Forest vs Vitoria de Guimaraes - prediction, team news, lineups

Nottingham Forest will continue their preparations for the 2026-27 Premier League campaign with a pre-season friendly against Vitoria de Guimaraes on Sunday.

The Reds are building towards their Premier League opener against Leeds United on August 22, while Vitoria will start their league campaign against Arouca on August 8.

Match preview

Forest have already played twice during this pre-season, opening their preparations for the 2026-27 campaign with a 2-0 success over Notts County on July 18, before recording a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in their last game on July 22.

Now under the management of Oliver Glasner, the Reds have a very busy pre-season schedule, facing Sporting Lisbon, Udinese, Barcelona, Bayer Leverkusen and Brest in their five games after this one, before opening their new Premier League campaign against Leeds on August 22.

Forest have only made one signing this summer, bringing in experienced midfielder Xaver Schlager on a free transfer from RB Leipzig.

It has been relatively quiet on the exit front, although Elliot Anderson has been a major outgoing, with the England international completing a big-money move to Manchester City.

Forest will be aiming to improve on a Premier League season which saw them finish in 16th spot, and it will be fascinating to see how Glasner performs at the helm.

© Imago / Sportimage

Vitoria, meanwhile, have taken to the field on four occasions in pre-season, and their results have been impressive, posting four straight wins.

Tiago Margarido's side opened their pre-season with a 3-1 win over Felgueiras, before beating Penafiel 5-0 in their second friendly of the summer on July 18.

Vitoria also beat Academica 2-0 on July 18, before recording a 3-1 success over Al-Ahli on Friday, so this will represent a tough test for Forest given that the Portuguese outfit are further ahead in their preparations for the new campaign.

Margarido's team will open their new league season against Arouca on August 8, and they will be aiming to improve on last term's ninth-placed finish.

Vitoria have made three signings so far this summer, with their standout arrival being Yeimar Mosquera from Aston Villa, while Diogo Sousa and Noah Saviolo have been notable departures.

Nottingham Forest pre-season form:

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Vitoria pre-season form:

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Team News

© Imago / SOPA Images

Forest could hand a debut to Schlager in this match, with the new signing linking up with his new teammates ahead of the contest with Vitoria.

However, the likes of Chris Wood, Ibrahim Sangare and Dan Ndoye remain unavailable due to their involvement in the 2026 World Cup.

Igor Jesus was on the scoresheet against Blackburn last time out and should continue in the final third of the field, while Morgan Gibbs-White and Neco Williams should also be notable starters.

As for Vitoria, there should be a spot in the final third of the field for Alioune Ndoye, who scored five times in 29 appearances last season.

Samu is the captain, and an impressive 2025-26 campaign saw the 29-year-old score nine goals and register five assists; a spot in the first XI is expected here.

There will be changes throughout the contest, but a strong first team is also expected to include important attacker Oumar Camara.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, N Williams; Dominguez, McAtee, Yates; Gibbs-White, Jesus, Awoniyi

Vitoria possible starting lineup:

Zych; Strata, Rivas, Balieiro, Mendes; Rocha, Mukendi; Silva, Samu, Camara; Ndoye

We say: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Vitoria

This should be a very competitive match, and we are expecting it to be close in terms of the scoreline, with the spoils potentially being shared.

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