Nottingham Forest face Fenerbahce in Istanbul in the first leg of their Europa League play-off
16:37, 19 Feb 2026Updated 16:40, 19 Feb 2026
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira during a press conference at The City Ground, Nottingham.
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Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira during a press conference at The City Ground, Nottingham.
Vitor Pereira has named his team to face Fenerbahce as he prepares for his first match as Nottingham Forest head coach.
It is straight in at the deep end for the Portuguese after being appointed as Sean Dyche’s replacement on Sunday. The Reds will kick off their new era in Turkey this evening, with the first leg of their Europa League play-off.
The absolute priority for new boss Pereira is to keep Forest in the Premier League. However, he must do so while navigating the challenge of competing on the continent as the club still have designs on going far in Europe.
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The Reds missed out on automatic qualification for the last 16 of the Europa League. If they want to keep their continental adventure going they must see off one of Pereira’s former clubs over two legs - with the return taking place at the City Ground a week today.
In terms of odds for tonight, Fenerbahce are 5/4 with Bally Bet to take a first-leg advantage, with the draw at 47/20 and Forest priced at 43/20 to leave Turkey with a win.
Last Wednesday’s 0-0 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers proved to be the final straw for Dyche. Pereira has made two changes to the team that started against the league’s bottom club.
Murillo has returned from injury to take his place back in the starting XI while Igor Jesus gets the nod up front. Morato and Lorenzo Lucca have dropped to the bench.
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It is a strong line-up from Pereira, who has gone with a back four rather than his customary three-man defence. Murillo will line up alongside Nikola Milenkovic, with Ola Aina and Neco Williams the full-backs ahead of goalkeeper Stefan Ortega.
Ibrahim Sangare and Elliot Anderson have retained their places in midfield. Omari Hutchinson will make his European debut after being added to the revised Europa League squad. The winger will join Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi in providing attacking support for front man Jesus.
The bench will be made up of Angus Gunn, Keehan Willows, Morato, Dan Ndoye, Nicolas Dominguez, Lucca, Ryan Yates, Jair Cunha, James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa and Zach Abbott.
Forest: Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus. Subs: Gunn, Willows, Morato, Ndoye, Dominguez, Lucca, Yates, Jair, McAtee, Bakwa, Abbott.
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