The Oliver Glasner Nottingham Forest debut has arrived. Leeds United are at the City Ground on Saturday for the Reds’ 2026-27 Premier League opener, and it is the Austrian’s first competitive match in charge since his appointment in early July, when he left Crystal Palace for the East Midlands.
He inherited a squad that got through four head coaches last season and finished 16th, and he has spent pre-season installing the 3-4-2-1 that served him at Selhurst Park — the shape we broke down in full here. There is no European football to juggle this time, and the Elliot Anderson money has gone back into the spine: Ousmane Diomande from Sporting for £34.3m, Xaver Schlager on a free from RB Leipzig and goalkeeper Steven Benda on a free from Fulham. Morgan Gibbs-White captains the Tricky Trees.
What the Oliver Glasner Nottingham Forest debut is up against
Daniel Farke’s Leeds travel with two players ruled out, the Nottingham Post reported on Friday, and The 4th Official expect Dominic Calvert-Lewin to spearhead the visitors’ attack. Midfielder Ethan Ampadu told Leeds United’s official website that the Whites “want to put our stamp on more games” this season. BBC Sport’s preview has the head-to-head record and the key stats; the Guardian’s writers have gone for Forest to finish 11th.
Glasner, for his part, has kept the focus on the occasion. “I’m looking forward to a fantastic atmosphere,” the head coach told BBC Radio Nottingham this week, in an interview that also covered his stated wish, reported by Sky Sports, to add more players before the window shuts.
Confirmed line-ups land about an hour before kick-off. Our predicted Forest XI and full Forest v Leeds preview have the rest.
