Nottingham Forest vs Fenerbahce: Reds with one foot in last 16 as Yellow Canaries seek Europa League miracle
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
Mass rotation expected but Pereira not underestimating Turks
Nottingham Forest’s decision to sack Sean Dyche and appoint their fourth manager of the season, Vitor Pereira, certainly raised many eyebrows, but that was quickly forgotten after the former Wolves boss made the perfect start to his tenure in Istanbul last week.
The Tricky Trees confirmed our Europa League predictions by securing a commanding 3-0 victory and taking full control of the tie, thanks to goals from Murillo, Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White, which has given them plenty of breathing room ahead of tonight’s clash.
Not only was that result the first win for the new boss, but it was also the team’s first victory in the knockout rounds of any European competition since November 1995, when they defeated Ligue 1 outfit Olympique Lyon 1-0 in the UEFA Cup round of 16.
However, despite the margin of victory, which will allow the Reds to rest players ahead of their crucial Premier League fixture against Brighton this weekend, the Portuguese tactician is not taking this fixture lightly and has urged his side not to underestimate Fenerbahce. In his pre-match press conference, Pereira said:
“The worst mistake we can make is thinking it will be easy tomorrow. We need to approach this game with the right mentality to play in front of our supporters. But I know the spirit of the club and the Turkish people, they will come here believing.”
While Forest remains cautious, it is still a monumental task for Fenerbahce to overturn this deficit, as they were completely outplayed in the first leg, managing only six attempts at goal to their opponents’ 23. The defeat was also the Yellow Canaries' joint-biggest at home in the UEL ever.
Thus, for the Turkish giants to progress, they will need to make history tonight. However, history is not in their favour for this match, as they have never managed to progress from any of the 26 ties in any European competition after losing the first leg of a knockout clash.
Forest, on the other hand, could win a third European match on the bounce for the first time since the early 80s tonight. They have kept clean sheets in each of their last three home games in Europe, and another here will book their spot against either Real Betis or Midtjylland in the Round of 16.
Key player focus: Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White
Given their lead in the tie, Pereira is widely expected to rotate his squad for this match, especially with a massive game against the Seagulls to come in the Premier League this weekend. You can get all the major team news in our Nottingham Forest vs Fenerbahce prediction.
However, one player that will be hoping to keep his spot in the starting 11 is Igor Jesus, who drew level with Ludogorets’ talisman Petar Stanic (seven goals) at the top of this season’s Europa League top-goalscorers charts last week in the victory in Istanbul.
The Brazilian’s performances in Europe have been in stark contrast to his domestic form. Indeed, he is now averaging a goal every 54 minutes in this season's UEL, while he has only two goals in the English top flight this term, netting a goal every 757 minutes.
The other player we have picked out that could have a major impact for the Reds in this match is their skipper, Morgan Gibbs-White, whose leadership and performances over the last two seasons have put him firmly on the radar of Manchester United and Manchester City.
The 26-year-old was instrumental in helping his side secure European football last season, and he has remained their creative spark this term with eight goal involvements in the EPL and five in this competition after scoring and picking up an assist in the first leg of this tie last week.
Tactically, this match could play perfectly into the Englishman’s hands. Given that Fener will be forced to push for goals, they could leave spaces in behind which Gibbs-White can exploit on the counter-attack, and it would not come as a surprise if he added to his season tally in this one.
