Sunderland will host Nottingham Forest at the Stadium of Light on Friday night, looking to bounce back from the disappointing defeat to Aston Villa last weekend.

Sunderland were beaten 4-3 away from home in the last outing, and they will look to get back to winning ways once again in the game vs Nottingham Forest at the Stadium of Light. The Black Cats have won three of their last six matches across all competitions, and they will look to finish the season strongly.

Regis Le Bris’s men are 11th in the Premier League table, and they will aim for a top-half finish. On the other hand, Nottingham Forest are fighting for survival in the Premier League, and they have been very impressive in recent weeks. The Tricky Trees have picked up four wins and two draws from the last six matches in all competitions.

Vitor Pereira’s men are coming into this game on the back of a comprehensive victory against Burnley, and they will certainly fancy their chances of getting another good result here. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.

Team News & Tactics

Sunderland

Simon Moore (wrist), Romaine Mundle (thigh), Bertrand Traore (knee), Nilson Angulo (knock), and Jocelin Ta Bi (ankle) are ruled out for the home side. Sunderland will line up in a 4-3-3 formation vs Nottingham Forest, with Robin Roefs in goal.

Lutsharel Geertruida and Arthur Masuaku will start as the full-backs. They will look to help out at both ends of the pitch. Meanwhile, Nordi Mukiele will start alongside Omar Alderete at the heart of the defence.

As for the midfield unit, Chris Rigg will add creativity and control alongside Granit Xhaka and Noah Sadiki. Xhaka and Sadiki will look to break up opposition attacks, win the ball back for the home side and set up transitions.

Enzo Le Fee and Chemsdine Talbi will start on the flanks. They will look to add pace, flair, and goals from the wide areas. Finally, Wilson Isidor will spearhead the Sunderland attack vs Nottingham Forest on Friday.

Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Roefs; Geertruida, Alderete, Mukiele, Masuaku; Sadiki, Xhaka, Rigg; Le Fee, Isidor, Talbi

Nottingham Forest

John Victor, Nicolo Savona, and Willy Boly are ruled out due to their respective knee injuries. Callum Hudson-Odoi is set to miss out with a thigh injury. Dan Ndoye is a doubt with a knock, and Murillo has a thigh injury.

Nottingham Forest will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Sunderland, with Matz Sels in goal. Neco Williams and Ola Aina will start as the full-backs. They will look to keep things tight at the back and help out going forward. Jair Cunha will start alongside Nikola Milenkovic at the heart of the defence.

As for the midfield unit, Ibrahim Sangare will add physicality and drive alongside Elliot Anderson in the double pivot, and they will aim to provide defensive cover and control in the central areas. Morgan Gibbs-White will add creativity and goals to the side in the final third.

Omari Hutchinson and Dilane Bakwa will start on the flanks, and they will look to add pace, flair, and unpredictability going forward. Finally, Igor Jesus will lead the line for Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland on Friday.

Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Cunha, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Bakwa; Jesus

Key Stats

• Sunderland are without a defeat in five of their last six matches against Nottingham Forest. Meanwhile, nine goals have been scored in the last six matches between these two teams.
• Nottingham Forest are without a defeat in their last six matches in all competitions. The Tricky Trees have won two of their last three Premier League games (D1), as many as in their previous 14 combined (D5 L7). Forest are looking for consecutive wins for the first time since November when they beat Leeds and Liverpool.
• Sunderland have lost three of the last six matches in all competitions.
• Only Crystal Palace’s Premier League games (71) have seen fewer goals this season than Sunderland’s (76), with their 4-3 defeat to Aston Villa last time out making up 9% of the goals scored in games involving the Black Cats in 2025/26
• Vítor Pereira has won eight of his 13 Premier League matches across March and April with Wolves and Nottingham Forest (D4 L1), averaging 2.15 points per game. In all other months, he has won just four out of 26 games (D4 L18), averaging 0.62 points per game.

Player to Watch

Morgan Gibbs-White

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The Nottingham Forest midfielder is our key player to watch out for. The Englishman recently scored a hat-trick against Burnley, and he is in fine form. The visitors will depend on him to create opportunities in the final third and find the back of the net as well.

Meanwhile, Gibbs-White has six goals in his last six Premier League appearances, as many as he scored in his previous 28 games combined. He is averaging a goal every 101 minutes under Vítor Pereira, the best ratio by any Nottingham Forest player with 2+ goals under a manager in the Premier League.

Sunderland will look to shut out the opposition, and they will need the flair and ingenuity of Gibbs-White here. Nottingham Forest will be desperate for all three points, and they need their star midfielder to step up and deliver in the final third.

Prediction

Sunderland 1-1 Nottingham Forest

Both teams will be desperate for all three points, and this is likely to be a close contest. Neither team will want to end up on the losing side. The two sides could take a cautious approach here, and they could cancel each other out. They are likely to get on the score sheet, but they will end up sharing the spoils in a draw.