Leeds United vs. Nottingham Forest: Tricky Trees bidding to record club first in crucial Elland Road clash

Nottingham Forest can finally end a remarkable historical streak when they square off against Leeds United on Friday night.

The two teams head into the Premier League fixture at Elland Road looking to secure a potentially-pivotal result in the fight to avoid relegation to the Championship.

Leeds and Forest sit in 16th and 17th position in the Premier League table, level on 26 points and holding a six-point advantage over the bottom three.

As a result, a winner in Yorkshire on Friday night could take a giant leap towards survival with just 13 matches remaining.

However, Forest make the trip to face the Lilywhites looking to record a feat that they have never achieved in their history.

© Imago / Sportsphoto

What feat can Forest achieve at Leeds?

Friday's fixture will represent the 26th time that these two teams have met at Leeds' home ground in England's top flight.

In the previous 25 encounters, Leeds have always found the back of the net, while they have also recorded three successive victories in Premier League games played between 1996 and 2023.

Meanwhile, having prevailed from the reverse fixture in November by a 3-1 scoreline, Forest are bidding to record their first league double over Leeds since 2013-14.

© Imago / Pro Sports Images

Will Elland Road under the lights make the difference?

Leeds have accumulated 19 points from their 12 Premier League matches at Elland Road during 2025-26.

Remarkably, four of their five wins on familiar territory have come in evening fixtures that have kicked off at 7.30pm or later.

Everton, West Ham United, Chelsea and Crystal Palace have all been defeated in such contests.

Prior to last weekend's 4-0 defeat at home to leaders Arsenal, Leeds had been on a run of games where their only defeat in 11 fixtures had been courtesy of a 102nd-minute winner for Newcastle United in a 4-3 defeat on January 7.

Despite the statistics that are not in their favour, Forest are one of just four Premier League teams that have come through their last four top-flight fixtures without defeat.