Latest Nottingham Forest news as Sean Dyche’s Reds bring curtain down on Europa League league phase with City Ground clash
18:51, 29 Jan 2026Updated 19:01, 29 Jan 2026
Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche (Image: PA)
Head coach Sean Dyche has named his Nottingham Forest team to take on Ferencvaros in tonight’s Europa League clash at the City Ground.
This evening’s round of fixtures brings the curtain down on the league phase of the competition. The Reds start the night 16th in the table and guaranteed to see their continental adventure continue beyond the match with their Hungarian opponents.
Last week’s 1-0 defeat away to Braga means achieving a top-eight finish to progress straight through to the round of 16 is highly unlikely for Forest. They would need to win on the banks of the Trent and hope a succession of other results go their way.
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In all likelihood, Dyche’s side will have a two-legged play-off to contend with in order to reach the last 16. But tonight’s game still matters as if they finish between ninth and 16th in the table, they will be at home for the second leg of that tie.
The Reds bounced back from a miserable night in Portugal with a 2-0 Premier League win over Brentford at the weekend. With a big game against Crystal Palace to come on Sunday, Dyche still needs to manage his resources as top-flight survival remains the priority.
New signing Lorenzo Lucca is not eligible to feature against Ferencvaros. Dyche has made five changes to his starting XI from the victory over the Bees, with Zach Abbott, Morato, Ryan Yates, Dan Ndoye and James McAtee in for Ola Aina, Murillo, the suspended Elliot Anderson, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Morgan Gibbs-White.
Abbott looks set to start at right-back, with Morato partnering Nikola Milenkovic in the heart of the defence. Neco Williams will complete the back line ahead of goalkeeper Matz Sels.
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Yates will partner Ibrahim Sangare in midfield. Ndoye and McAtee will be joined by Nicolas Dominguez in providing attacking support for front man Igor Jesus.
Dyche does have a strong bench, if he needs it. The likes of Murillo, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Aina and Dilane Bakwa are among the substitutes.
Forest: Sels; Abbott, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Sangare, Yates; Ndoye, McAtee, Dominguez; Jesus. Subs: Gunn, Willows, Murillo, Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Bakwa, Aina, Whitehall, Thompson, Sinclair, Hammond.
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