Europa League: Is the Third Manager the Charm for Forest?

Nottingham Forest vs Porto

Nottingham Forest wielded the axe on Ange Postecoglou, and they’re on to their third manager already this season with the recent appointment of Sean Dyche. The former Everton boss will coach his first game with his new team on Thursday, when Nottingham Forest host Porto at the City Ground for matchday three of the 2025-26 Europa League campaign.

The Tricky Trees haven’t won a game since a 3-1 result against Brentford last August, and they dropped points in their first two European matches against Real Betis (2-2) and Midtjylland (3-2). As a result, Nottingham Forest are 18th in the Premier League standings and 25th in the Europa League table.

In stark contrast, Porto are undefeated across all competitions this season. Francesco Farioli’s side opened their European campaign with back-to-back wins over RB Salzburg (1-0) and Red Star Belgrade (2-1). The team is fresh from a convincing 4-0 win against Celoricense in the Taca de Portugal third round.

 

Talking Points

Nottingham Forest will go back to basics

Evangelos Marinakis has looked reckless after sacking both Nuno Espirito Santo and Ange Postecoglou within the space of six weeks. In hindsight, the controversial Nottingham Forest owner shouldn’t have dismissed Nuno, since he is responsible for guiding the Tricky Trees to Europe last campaign.

Postecoglou was brutally relieved of his duties after Saturday’s 3-0 home loss to Chelsea. The former Tottenham manager only lasted 39 days at the helm, which is the shortest reign in Premier League history among permanent managers. Simply put, his gung-ho play style did not work for Nottingham Forest, who thrived under Nuno’s pragmatic approach.

This is why hiring someone of Dyche’s profile makes sense since he plays similarly to Nuno. Dyche is likely to revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation against Porto, which could mean several key changes to the starting XI. It also helps Dyche that Ola Aina (hamstring) is the team’s only injury concern.

Douglas Luiz and Oleksandr Zinchenko returned to the matchday squad and could make a case to start. Skipper Ryan Yates could be recalled in midfield at the expense of Ibrahim Sangare. Chris Wood will likely replace Taiwo Awoniyi (ineligible) at the No. 9 position, with Igor Jesus, Dan Ndoye, and Callum Hudson-Odoi vying for starts in the final third.

 

Porto have been on a scoring spree

While Nottingham Forest find themselves down in the dumps, Porto are in a buoyant mood, following an impressive start to their campaign. Besides boasting a 100-per cent record in the Europa League, the Dragons are also three points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga table.

Samu Aghehowa is a key reason for the Dragons’ fiery start, as the pacey forward already has eight goals in nine games. Last time out, Aghehowa scored a 10-minute hat-trick against their fourth-tier counterparts. However, he has yet to find the back of the net in the Europa League this term.

Borja Sainz, Pepe, William Gomes, and Victor Froholdt will backstop Aghehowa, who combine for seven goals and seven assists so far.

 

History

Thursday marks the first meeting between Nottingham Forest and Porto. Nottingham Forest will take some comfort from the fact that Porto have only won 10 of their 49 previous encounters against English sides (D12, L27), with their only win in 24 away matches coming at Chelsea in April 2021 (1-0 in the Champions League). This also marks Sean Dyche’s first-ever European match as manager.

Porto are seeking to begin a European campaign with three straight wins for the first time since 2012-13. The Dragons travel to the City Ground having already won all six of their away matches this term by a whopping aggregate tally of 16-1.

Nottingham Forest have failed to win any of their last 10 matches (D3, L7) across all competitions.

 

Betting Tip

Nottingham Forest supporters are probably manifesting the latest Europa League 2025 odds. Because they’re playing at home, the Tricky Trees are slightly favoured to win at 2.29, whereas Porto aren’t far behind at 2.85, and a draw is at 3.19 in the 1X2 market.

Sean Dyche-coached teams tend to be rigid on the defencive end, so Nottingham Forest will do all they can to prevent Porto from creating new Europa League 2025 highlights. However, it may take some time for the team to adjust to the new boss, and that may not be enough to stop Porto’s free-scoring ways. Besides our recommended bet, SBOTOP bettors can also add Over 2.25 at 1.74, Over 2.50 at 1.98, and Total Goals 2-3 at 1.97 to the parlay.

   

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