Nottingham Forest will continue their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign with a pre-season friendly against Villarreal on Friday night.
Nuno Espirito Santo's side will open their new Premier League season at home to Bournemouth on August 17, while Villarreal will begin their 2024-25 La Liga campaign against Atletico Madrid on August 19.
Match preview
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Forest started their preparations for the 2024-25 campaign with a 3-0 victory over Chesterfield on July 13, before drawing 1-1 with Sunderland and beating Millwall 2-1 in their next two pre-season matches.
Nuno's side were last in action on July 26, suffering a 1-0 defeat to Elche, and they now have two more friendlies in the diary against Villarreal and Olympiacos before opening their new Premier League campaign on August 17 against Bournemouth.
The Reds finished 17th in the Premier League last season, and they will be looking to push further up the division in the coming campaign after making some standout signings during the summer market.
Elliot Anderson has been their biggest addition in terms of a transfer fee, arriving from Newcastle United, while centre-back Nikola Milenkovic is another of their standout arrivals, joining from Fiorentina.
Forest have also made some big sales during the summer window, with Moussa Niakhate, Odysseas Vlachodimos and Orel Mangala among those to depart.
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Villarreal, meanwhile, began their preparations for the new season with a 3-1 success over Sion on July 24, before losing 3-1 to Saint-Etienne last time out.
The Yellow Submarine have three more friendlies in the diary against Forest, Borussia Dortmund and Brighton & Hove Albion, before beginning their 2024-25 La Liga season against Atletico on August 19.
Marcelino's side will not play European football next season, having finished a disappointing eighth in Spain's top flight in 2023-24, which proved to be their lowest position in La Liga since 2019.
Villarreal have made four signings so far this summer, bringing in Willy Kambwala, Diego Conde, Pape Gueye and Sergi Cardona.
Filip Jorgensen has been their standout departure, meanwhile, making the move to Chelsea; Alexander Sorloth is another of their key players who could potentially leave, with West Ham United said to be keen on his services.
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Team News
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Forest head coach Nuno is expected to name a strong XI for the first whistle against Villarreal, with new signings Anderson and Milenkovic set to be in the side.
Chris Wood is likely to lead the line, while there should also be starts for Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi in the final third of the field.
There remains speculation surrounding Murillo's future, but the 22-year-old is expected to stay at Forest this summer, and he is likely to be in the XI on Friday night.
As for Villarreal, Sorloth is expected to lead the line, with the 28-year-old still at the club despite some recent talk surrounding his future.
Kambwala, who has made the move to the club from Manchester United this summer, is also likely to feature in the starting side.
Manu Trigueros could feature alongside Santi Comesana and Dani Parejo in midfield, while Gerard Moreno and Ilias Akhomach are also likely to be in a strong starting side, with a number of youngsters set to be given opportunities in the second period.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Turner; N Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Aina; Sangare, Anderson; Gibbs-White, Yates, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Villarreal possible starting lineup:
Conde; Foyth, Bailly, Kambwala, Alti; Trigueros, Parejo, Comesana; G Moreno, Sorloth, Akhomach
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Villarreal
Both managers are expected to name a strong starting teams, and it should be a competitive match on Friday night. Forest will be eyeing their third victory of the summer, and we are backing Nuno's side to shade a close match here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
