My calendar is cleared.
Don’t ask me to do anything between 15:00–18:00 on a Saturday. Best avoid Saturday mornings and evenings as well. Just in case.
Sunday, you say? Well, what if Sky TV (is fucking shit) selects us for coverage?
Hmm. Better rule out Friday nights too. And Mondays.
On second thoughts, I’ll contact you.
THE FOOTBALL IS BACK, BABY!
A New Era at the City Ground
And with that, Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United gets the 2026/27 campaign underway at the City Ground, as last season’s relegation rivals meet once again. Forest fans will no doubt have been disappointed with last season. They invested heavily in the summer, adding to a squad that had missed out on the Champions League by just one point. But it wasn’t just the players who underperformed. Forest went through four managers last season: Nuno Espírito Santo, ‘Big’ Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vítor Pereira, before he too was cast aside this summer in favour of Oliver Glasner.
Leeds fans know only too well the cost of a particularly unstable owner. Massimo Cellino once earned himself the nickname ‘The Manager Eater’ long before he arrived at Elland Road with an apparent fondness for managerial sackings and suspiciously busy nostrils. But perhaps Evangelos Marinakis is the man who should inherit the mantle now. He’s certainly got the appetite for it. And, judging by the space he occupies in the directors’ box, possibly the appetite for everything else too.
Regardless of last season, it’s a clean slate for Forest under a very good manager. They reached the Europa League semi-final last season, which goes to show the quality that still exists within their squad, and Glasner will push them to their limits to get the best out of them. They have lost Elliot Anderson to Manchester City this summer and have made just two high-profile signings in centre-back Ousmane Diomande and versatile midfielder Xaver Schlager. Glasner said that he expects “one or two” more players to arrive before the September 1 deadline as he bids to build a squad capable of challenging for at least a top-half finish this term.
Forest have had a decent pre-season, with five wins, one draw and three defeats across nine friendlies, and they head into Saturday’s Premier League opener having won their last four home league meetings with The Mighty Whites. Shit.
Leeds Ready to March On Again
Leeds, meanwhile, are coming off the back of a very impressive first season in the top flight. Daniel Farke steadied the ship, saving his job in the process, with eight wins, twelve draws and only five defeats across 25 Premier League games after switching to a back three/five formation in November. A positive summer window for Leeds so far has seen the arrivals of Harry Wilson, Tarik Muharemović, James Trafford and Nico Elvedi. On top of this, new contracts have been handed out to captain Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon, Jayden Bogle and Brenden Aaronson. The feel-good factor is certainly high in LS11 at the moment and, with further additions to come before the deadline, we’ll be hoping for another season of consolidation, with perhaps an eye on the top half.
Team News
Glasner’s back-three system is set to be deployed, with £34m signing Diomande hoping to make his debut at centre-back alongside Nikola Milenković and Murillo, while Ola Aina and Neco Williams operate as wing-backs. Schlager will be pushing to start in central midfield alongside Ibrahim Sangaré, while star man Morgan Gibbs-White could link up with Igor Jesus in behind ex-Leeds striker Chris Wood.
As for the Whites, summer signing and certified Rolls-Royce Tarik Muharemović will make his full debut at centre-back alongside Jaka Bijol and Joe Rodon, with club-record signing James Trafford starting in goal. Dominic Calvert-Lewin will lead the line, with new man Harry Wilson and Brenden Aaronson hoping to get the nod in the advanced roles ahead of Noah Okafor and Lukas Nmecha.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Diomande, Milenković, Murillo; Aina, Schlager, Sangaré, Williams; Gibbs-White, Jesus; Wood
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Trafford; Rodon, Bijol, Muharemović; Bogle, Ampadu, Stach, Justin; Wilson, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin
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