Nottingham Forest welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the City Ground with both sides looking for a win, but it is Spurs who arrive under more pressure after a miserable opening to the Premier League season.
Tottenham have lost both of their first two games, going down 3-0 to Brentford before a 2-0 defeat against Newcastle United. Worse still, they haven’t scored in either match. That is their worst start to a top-flight season since 1974.
Forest haven’t had the same start, but there are still questions around Oliver Glasner’s side, particularly at home. They lost both of their City Ground fixtures against Leeds United, with a 1-0 league defeat followed by a 2-0 Carabao Cup loss.
The 2-2 draw at Liverpool last weekend was a different story. Forest twice led at Anfield and looked much more comfortable going forward. Glasner will want to see that version of his team again against Tottenham.
Nottingham Forest key stats ahead of the game
The Reds have won their last four Premier League meetings with Tottenham. While, they have never managed five league wins in a row against Spurs, so there is another little bit of history to chase on the day for Forest.
Tottenham Hotspur did win 2-0 on their first two visits to the City Ground in the Premier League during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons. That record has since flipped in Nottingham’s favour. Forest won 1-0 in 2024-25 and then followed it up with a 3-0 victory last season.
Nottingham’s overall home record isn’t particularly strong. They have won only once in their last 12 Premier League games at the City Ground, drawing seven and losing four. That one victory came in April against Burnley.
Losing to Leeds on the opening weekend also means Forest are trying to avoid a first-time problem. They haven’t lost their opening two home matches of a top-flight season since 1924-25.
The challenge is now to make the City Ground a difficult place for Spurs.
Tottenham and Nottingham team news
Spurs have spent more than £350m this summer, yet the results so far have been bleak.
They have now added Mykhailo Mudryk on loan from Chelsea, although it remains unclear whether the Ukrainian will feature against Forest. New midfielders Sandro Tonali and Mateus Fernandes are expected to start, particularly with Tottenham dealing with several absences.
Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert and Dejan Kulusevski are out injured. James Maddison and Savio Moreira de Oliveira are doubts.
That leaves even more responsibility on Tonali and Fernandes to give Spurs some control in midfield.
Forest also have their own problems. Nicolo Savona and Ibrahim Sangare are unavailable, but Morgan Gibbs-White and Dan Ndoye are both already on the scoresheet this season.
That could be important against a Tottenham side that has yet to score.
The last 10 meetings between the clubs have produced a winner, so a draw would be unusual. Forest will be looking to continue their recent dominance of this fixture, while Spurs badly need something to stop their season from slipping away before it has really started.
With Glasner still settling his 3-4-2-1 system, this could be another test for the Austrian. Forest showed at Anfield that they can cause problems away from home. Now they need to show they can do it at the City Ground too.
