- 1 Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United: the rematch comes just five days later
- 2 Nottingham Forest are still finding their feet under Glasner
- 3 Leeds United have already found their defensive balance
- 4 Football Tips Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United
- 5 First, a word on our free tips
- 6 No commitment from us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your role
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the visuals…
Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United: the rematch comes just five days later 
The two clubs already met last Saturday on the opening weekend of the Premier League, and Leeds came away with a 1-0 win at the City Ground. Anton Stach settled it from a free kick two minutes from time.
The second round of the EFL Cup brings them back together in the same venue on Tuesday, 25 August at 21:00 French time, or 20:00 local time. The game has been picked up by Sky Sports and ITV, which explains the 20:00 kick-off while most of the evening ties start at 19:45.
The picture is simple for the Tricky Trees: wipe out a defeat decided by a single moment and avoid going out at the first hurdle. Premier League clubs enter at the second round, so this is the first cup date of the season for both sides.
Nottingham Forest head into it with a fresh project and real pressure. Oliver Glasner replaced Vitor Pereira this summer, but he is already the club’s fifth manager in under a year.
Leeds, by contrast, are built on more stable ground. Daniel Farke finished last season in 14th with 47 points, five behind Chelsea in 10th, in a return to the top flight that was broadly a success.
The recent record between the two teams is clear. Leeds have won four of the last five meetings with Forest, and Saturday’s victory only added to that run.
Recent form over the last six matches points the same way. Forest have two wins, one draw and three defeats, while Leeds have five wins and a draw in all competitions.
This one should turn on rotation. Both managers have already said changes are coming after a league match played only three days earlier, so squad depth is the real tactical question on the night.
Nottingham Forest are still finding their feet under Glasner 
Saturday’s defeat was Glasner’s first competitive game in charge of Forest. It was a harsh one, with the contest finely balanced, plenty of set pieces at both ends, and a goal conceded in the 88th minute.
The Austrian’s European record is not in doubt. He guided Crystal Palace to the Conference League title last season, which gives him the sort of authority needed to bed in his ideas.
The issue is elsewhere: he needs time, and this club have shown recently that time is in short supply. Owner Evangelos Marinakis has changed managers five times in less than 12 months.
Pre-season did offer a few signs. Forest beat Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 and Brest 2-0 at home, before losing 4-1 to Sporting Lisbon and 1-0 to Barcelona, then drawing 0-0 with Portimonense.
That leaves them with two wins, one draw and three defeats from their last six outings. Both wins came at the City Ground, which remains Forest’s main source of hope here.
As for the squad, Glasner is without Nicolo Savona and Ryan Yates, both injured. Everyone else is available, so he does have room to rotate.
Big changes are expected from the side that started against Leeds on Saturday. John Victor should come in between the posts, while Ousmane Diomande, signed from Sporting Lisbon in the 2026 summer window, could make his full debut.
The cup comes at a useful moment for the manager. It gives him a chance to assess his squad depth, but it also leaves him staring at an immediate exit against the same side that just beat him.
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Leeds United have already found their defensive balance 
Saturday’s win was built as much on discipline as on finishing. Leeds kept a clean sheet for 90 minutes at the City Ground, frustrating their hosts for long spells.
That is exactly the job they set out to tackle this summer. The Yorkshire club shipped 56 goals last season, and that number shaped their recruitment.
Three signings were aimed squarely at that area. Goalkeeper James Trafford and centre-backs Nico Elvedi and Tarik Muharemovic arrived in the 2026 summer window to stiffen the back line.
The results suggest the improvement is real. Across their last six matches in all competitions, Leeds have five wins and one draw, including a 2-0 win over RB Leipzig, a 4-0 thrashing of Augsburg and a 1-1 draw at Manchester United in pre-season.
The bigger question is down the line. This is the second season after promotion, and Farke will need to show the lessons of the past have stuck.
The injury list is heaviest in attack. Wilfried Gnonto, Noah Okafor and Mateo Joseph are all out, with the latter still recovering from an ACL injury.
Ilia Gruev remains sidelined with a knee problem, and Gabriel Gudmundsson, who missed Saturday with a thigh issue, could also be rested. Even so, Farke still has options in Dan James, Sean Longstaff, Sam Byram and Largie Ramazani.
The fixture setup suits Leeds. They are heading back to a ground they have just controlled, with a settled defensive pecking order and an opponent still being put together.
[bet365_cta]
Probable Nottingham Forest XI: Victor ; Abott, Diomande, Murillo ; Aina, Schlager, Dominguez, Netz ; Hutchison, Hudson-Odoi ; Wood
Probable Leeds United XI: Trafford ; Elvedi, Bijol, Muharemovic ; Justin, Byram, Stach, Longstaff ; Ramazani, James ; Nmecha
Football Tips Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United
Our tip: Leeds United to win
The first reason is statistical, and it points straight at this fixture. Leeds have won four of their last five meetings with Forest, including the most recent one at the City Ground four days ago.
The second is structural. The Whites come in with five wins and a draw from six matches, a defence bolstered by three summer arrivals and a side that already kept Forest out on this pitch.
Forest, meanwhile, have three defeats in their last six outings and are in the middle of a new cycle with a manager appointed this summer. The absences of Savona and Yates only trim further into the midfield and defensive options.
The call, then, is Leeds United to win at the City Ground. The recent gap between these two sides is too clear to back against Farke’s men.
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