Nottingham Forest take on Porto in the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final at the City Ground this evening
05:00, 16 Apr 2026
Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira oversees training
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Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira oversees training(Image: PA)
A place in a European semi-final will be at stake when Nottingham Forest take to the City Ground pitch this evening.
But for head coach Vitor Pereira, a big opportunity also presents a big dilemma. Exactly how strong should he go with his starting line-up in the second leg of his team’s Europa League quarter-final against Porto (8pm kick-off)?
The chance to reach the last four of the tournament is one the Reds will be desperate to grasp. But it must be balanced against a huge Premier League game against Burnley on Sunday.
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Fighting on two fronts continues to give Pereira a headache when it comes to selecting his line-ups. The decisions he makes about who starts this evening will no doubt be made with one eye on the clash with the Clarets.
The Portuguese has rotated his line-ups between the two competitions. It seems likely he will do so again, at least to some degree, this week.
Forest’s Europa League quarter-final is delicately poised at 1-1 after last week’s match in Portugal. The club’s Premier League status also remains in the balance as they sit three points above the drop zone following Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Aston Villa.
It could be Pereira opts for a mix of first-team and fringe players tonight, with the goal of trying to get the job done - and avoid the need for extra-time and penalties. Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White are the only two players to have kept their places in the last two games - against Porto last week and against Villa - but it might be a few more of their teammates retain their spots on this occasion.
Stefan Ortega has been getting the nod between the posts in Europe. Pereira must weigh up whether to utilise a back three or a four-man defence ahead of the former Manchester City goalkeeper.
In Portugal, Zach Abbott, Murillo and Morato made up the back line. Forest could go with the same again, or they could revert to a four with a decision to be made over whether to go with the first-choice pairing of Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo or opt to swap in Morato.
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Full-back options are limited, with Neco Williams and Ola Aina the only out-and-out ones available. If Pereira wants to give either a rest, he could tweak his formation and call upon one of his wingers to play wing-back or draft in one of his centre-backs to fill in.
With Elliot Anderson having missed Wednesday’s training session for personal reasons, it might be he does not feature tonight. Ibrahim Sangare could also be given a breather, with Ryan Yates and Nicolas Dominguez on hand to step in.
Given he has started the last two games, it might be Gibbs-White is on the bench this time around. James McAtee would be in line to take up the No.10 spot, if so - and Pereira has previously spoken about how he has impressed in training.
Wingers Dan Ndoye and Dilane Bakwa started in Portugal last week. Pereira will decide whether it is a case of same again or whether Callum Hudson-Odoi and Omari Hutchinson retain their spots from Sunday.
Chris Wood led the line at the Estadio do Dragao, and it would be no surprise if he is up front this evening. Pereira will surely share the minutes between the New Zealand international and Igor Jesus, it is just a question of who starts and who comes off the bench.
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Forest predicted XI: Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Yates, Dominguez; Hutchinson, McAtee, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
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