Sean Dyche begins his reign as the Nottingham Forest boss with a tricky home game against Portuguese giants FC Porto in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday night.

Nottingham Forest have gone through another cycle of change in a short span, as club owner Evangelos Marinakis has appointed another manager at the helm ahead of the clash with FC Porto. Ange Postecoglou’s ill-fated tenure came to an end immediately after the defeat to Chelsea on Saturday; the Midlands club wasted no time in appointing Sean Dyche as his replacement.

Dyche has been without a job since leaving Everton last season, and he will take charge of his first game as the Forest boss when they host FC Porto. The Tricky Trees are in a terrible run of form, having failed to win any of the eight games under Postecoglou’s reign. Their last victory came against Brentford earlier in the season, and since then, they have gone ten games without a win across all competitions.

If Forest have ambitions of finishing in the top eight of the UEFA Europa League, they must start winning now. They kick-started this campaign with a 2-2 comeback draw against Real Betis in the first game, but succumbed to a disappointing defeat to FC Midtjylland. Another such result will dent their hopes severely and place them under severe pressure heading into the next matchdays, which makes this Porto clash a must-win.

Meanwhile, FC Porto come into this contest probably thinking this might be the perfect time to extend their winning start to the Europa League campaign. Francesco Farioli’s men have had an exceptional start to the new campaign, winning 10 of their 11 encounters across all competitions, including the two in the Europa League.

They have faced up to Red Bull Salzburg and Red Star Belgrade so far, where they notched six points out of six. Only their inferior goal difference over others have kept them in a lower position on the table, but Porto are one of the favourites to finish in the top eight as things stand. Hence, a victory away at Nottingham Forest will be crucial for their chances to continue to harbour those ambitions.

Team News & Tactics

Nottingham Forest

All eyes will be on Sean Dyche and his first-ever Nottingham Forest lineup, which one might perceive to be focused on defence rather than going all out in the attack. The former Burnley and Everton boss knows a thing or two about utilising the squad, and there are expectations that he will set out to protect rather than proactively attack.

In terms of available options, only Ola Aina remains out of contention with an injury sustained in the first international break, which ensured he never played under Postecoglou. The wider expectation is for Dyche to switch to a back three, but he could utilise the squad in a way that a back four is in play ahead of the home clash with Porto.

Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo are the ones expected at the heart of the defence, with Morato likely to make way to allow a back four comprising full-backs Neco Williams and Oleksandr Zinchenko. There could be a case that Dyche plays somewhat safe and could field a four-man traditional midfield with Dan Ndoye and Callum Hudson-Odoi operating in the wide roles.

Elliot Anderson and Ryan Yates are expected to feature in the middle of the park, although Ibrahim Sangare and Douglas Luiz are also viable options. Chris Wood will lead the line for Nottingham Forest against FC Porto, while Morgan Gibbs-White will operate in a role behind the New Zealand international.

Probable Lineup (4-4-1-1): Sels; Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Zinchenko; Ndoye, Yates, Anderson, Hudson-Odoi; Gibbs-White; Wood

FC Porto

The visitors have some key injury issues to deal with as Luuk de Jong and Neheun Perez remain sidelined with knee issues, while Tomas Perez and Yann Karamoh are ineligible for the Europa League.

Farioli is unlikely to make any changes to his defensive setup that has done so well, particularly Polish centre-back duo Jan Bednarek and Arsenal loanee Jakub Kiwior, while full-back pair Alberto Costa and Francisco Moura will also start.

Alan Varela, Gabri Veiga, and Victor Froholdt will be the main candidates in the central midfield trifecta. Finally, front three of Pepe and Borja Sainz will support Samu Aghehowa in the attacking setup.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Douglas Costa; Alberto Costa, Bednarek, Kiwior, Moura; Froholdt, Varela, Veiga; Pepe, Samu, Sainz

Key Stats

• Nottingham Forest are winless in their last ten games across all competitions.
• English sides are unbeaten in their last ten UEFA Europa League games against Portuguese opponents.
• FC Porto have won 10 of their 11 games across all competitions.
• FC Porto are unbeaten in six of their last seven away group-stage matches
• The two players who’ve created the most open play chances in the UEFA Europa League this season are Nottingham Forest duo Callum Hudson-Odoi and Elliot Anderson (7), while the latter has also conceded the joint most fouls (7) and won the most fouls (13) of any player,and ranks joint fourth for successful final third passes (40).

Player to Watch

Morgan Gibbs-White

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Gibbs-White has had a strange summer where he was close to joining Tottenham but was eventually persuaded by Evangelos Marinakis to stay and sign an extension to his contract. The fans had hoped to see their attacking midfielder perform at the level of last season, but that has not been the case at all.

The Englishman seriously needs a game where he is the catalyst to get his season up and running. He will certainly hope this game against Porto is the one for that big display, as there is immense pressure on the players to provide a win or risk becoming irrelevant in the Europa League and continue on their dismal season across all fronts.

Prediction

Nottingham Forest 2-2 FC Porto

There is an air of unpredictability about how Nottingham Forest will perform. The weekend was a prime example of that as the Tricky Trees looked better in the first half against Chelsea but collapsed in the second, as the Porto game could offer similar challenges. Overall, Dyche could be excused if there were another instance of dropped points, but the players will feel the pressure of it.

Meanwhile, Porto come into this clash as the slight favourites owing to their form this season across all fronts and particularly the Europa League. However, they could face a resilient side in Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest, which could potentially see the two teams share the spoils in what might be an entertaining game of football.