Latest Nottingham Forest verdict as Sean Dyche's Reds prepare to face Bournemouth in Premier League clash
10:00, 25 Oct 2025
Sarah Clapson is Nottingham Forest correspondent for NottinghamshireLive and the Nottingham Post. She has covered the Reds since 2015, having joined the Post the previous year. Being involved in the coverage of everything from Evangelos Marinakis’ takeover of the club to Forest winning promotion at Wembley, she has followed the team up and down the country, as well as abroad, to report on the latest goings-on.
Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche on the touchline against Porto
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Nottingham Forest head coach Sean Dyche on the touchline against Porto(Image: Getty)
After making a winning start to his tenure as Nottingham Forest head coach, the challenge for Sean Dyche is to keep the positive vibe going.
It was a good performance by the Reds as they got back to winning ways on Thursday night. The doom and gloom of Ange Postecoglu’s winless 39-day reign was swept aside as Porto were toppled 2-0 in the Europa League.
The City Ground was rocking after that. But Dyche was keen to point out afterwards that it was just ‘one step’ as Forest look to get their season fully back on track.
Establishing a sense of stability in the Premier League is particularly important for the new man. The Reds are in the relegation zone as things stand, with five points to their name.
There is a long way to go, of course, but Dyche is eager to get points on the board as soon as possible. Doing so against Forest’s bogey side will be no mean feat.
Bournemouth are flying in the early stages of this term. Sunday’s clash on the south coast (2pm kick-off) will be a tough test for the visitors.
Dyche looks set to be forced into at least one change to his line-up. Oleksandr Zinchenko hobbled off before half-time in midweek and is ‘touch and go’ to face the Cherries.
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If the Arsenal loanee misses out, Nicolo Savona would likely step in and take up the right-back spot. Neco Williams would then switch to the left, as he did to cater for Zinchenko going off against Porto.
Elsewhere, it would come as little surprise if Dyche does not make too many changes. He will take into consideration the quick turnaround and the exertion of Thursday night, but he will surely want to stick with a winning team as far as possible.
He does have the option to turn to the likes of Taiwo Awoniyi and Omari Hutchinson, if he wants to freshen things up. The duo were not involved in midweek as they are not in the Reds’ Europa League squad.
Winger Dilane Bakwa will be absent at the weekend due to an unspecified injury. Meanwhile, a late call will be made on striker Chris Wood after he missed Thursday night with a knee problem.
Even if Wood is involved, it may well be from the bench as Dyche will not want to take any risks with the New Zealand international. Igor Jesus will be in confident mood after scoring from the spot to seal the three points over Porto so seems likely to continue up front, although Awoniyi will no doubt be hoping for some minutes.
It might be Dyche has a decision to make in the centre of the pitch. He admitted it was a ‘tight call’ over who to start in midfield in the Europa League fixture.
Douglas Luiz and Elliot Anderson got the nod, although the former was withdrawn in the 84th minute as Dyche is keen to use him ‘wisely’ as he builds up fitness. Ibrahim Sangare, Ryan Yates and Nicolas Dominguez will hope they get the opportunity to impress at the Vitality Stadium.
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Predicted Forest XI (4-4-1-1): Sels; Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Ndoye, Sangare, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi; Gibbs-White, Jesus.
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