Nottingham Forest‘s new head coach, Vitor Pereira spoke with confidence about ensuring his new club’s Premier League safety ahead of Liverpool’s visit this weekend.
Forest currently sit three points above the relegation zone and have just appointed their fourth coach of the season, with Pereira replacing Sean Dyche.
Dyche took over from Ange Postecoglou, who stepped in after Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked in early September, with owner Evangelos Marinakis quick to pull the trigger.
Forest have not won any of their last five home league matches and will host Liverpool on Sunday afternoon, less than three days after their trip to Fenerbahce in the Europa League.
Pos Team W D L Pts
6 Liverpool 12 6 8 42
17 Nott’m Forest 7 6 13 27
A ‘new manager bounce’ will be expected and will put Arne Slot and Co. on notice, with Pereira confident he can keep Forest out of the relegation spots in the final 12 games.
“I prefer to speak about the present and the future. But you know this is a difficult season for the players, because it’s different methodologies, different managers,” he said in a press conference on Tuesday.
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Saturday, November 22, 2025: Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Nottingham Forest's Neco Williams (R) during the FA Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Nottingham Forest FC at Anfield. (Photo by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)
“It’s not easy, but I believe the reason why I accept this job is because I believe in the quality of the players, because I believe in the potential of this club, the ambition of the president.
“Of course, I believe that it’s possible (to stay up). I believe that we can get points, results and quality in the games.”
What Liverpool can expect vs. Nottingham Forest on Sunday
Elliot Anderson, Nottingham Forest at the City Ground (Martin Rickett/PA)
As for what Liverpool could expect on Sunday, Pereira wants a team playing without fear and with the freedom to express themselves, which could be dangerous if not snuffed out early, as experienced in the 3-0 defeat at Anfield.
“I want to see the team spirit, everybody fighting and competing without fear. And quality,” he told Forest TV. “They need to understand the quality of the idea and to express themselves in the idea.
“I want to create the freedom for them to express themselves and feel happy.
“The quality is there, for sure. It was there, the first training with me, but I enjoy it. It was freezing, it was raining, but they have quality.
“Sometimes we need the confidence to express ourselves without being afraid to make mistakes. We must have the confidence to try again, this is a moment we need to believe in ourselves as a team.
“I cannot change a lot because it is impossible playing every three days, it means they need to be intelligent, and I believe we can create something strong together.
“My challenge and the challenge for them is to play their best version, not to think about what might happen, the future we don’t know, we can just think about the present and hard work.”
Liverpool have the week off heading into the league fixture, while Forest have an away trip at Fenerbahce on Thursday evening, making it a quick turnaround for the hosts.