Nottingham Forest

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

There's a certain irony in Nottingham Forest's ability to be so effective from set pieces at both ends of the pitch last season, only for it to be our undoing this term.

Saturday's 2-2 draw with Manchester United had its controversy, of course, but fundamentally, our inability to defend set pieces again cost us.

Arsenal sit pretty at the top of the table with eight league goals from corners in their first 10 games - a Premier League record, and seven consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.

The Reds, in contrast, have scored just twice from set pieces this season. More worrying is the fact that they have conceded nine league goals from set pieces. Sean Dyche has a lot on his plate at the City Ground, but this is at the top of his to-do list.

Dyche is no stranger to organising his sides, with his Everton side one of the strongest in that respect during his time on Merseyside. Over 40% of the manager's goals have come from dead-ball situations in his Premier League games with both the Toffees and Burnley.

Everton's reliance on them could be attributed to their difficulties in scoring from open play, a problem which Forest have struggled with this season, but one which the Reds have the attacking ability to ultimately address.

At the back, there should be good signs for Dyche, with Matz Sels, Murillo, Nicola Milenkovic and Neco Williams part of last season's successful back five, but organisation and confidence count for everything in these situations.

In the so-called season of set pieces, Forest have been at the wrong end of the trend. But, as proved last year, it's something that can be turned around. Sooner rather than later, we hope.

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We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United.

Here are some of your replies:

Forest fans

Kevin: Fight, bottle, determination. Sean Dyche has unlocked everything that Ange Postecoglou failed to. A fair result in the end although I don't think it was a corner that led to the opening goal.

Malcolm: Improved cohesion, looking more likely to score and Callum Hudson-Odoi is looking sharper. We need to put our best competitors in the six-yard box to defend set-pieces and our goalkeeper needs to be much more assertive in his domain. He needs to try to dominate his space, with more punching practice and strength under pressure. Dan Ndoye is settling in and looks strong. A win will give us all a massive boost.

Gary: Despite the set-piece issue, I think Forest turned a corner in this game. There is cause for real optimism for the first time since the opener against Brentford.

Rob: Supporters are craving stability after a farcical start to the season, and I'm confident this manager together with his backroom team will give us that. You can see the impact he is having already, but we are still very much a work in progress. Players clearly knew their roles, especially in midfield where Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Ryan Yates were excellent and disciplined. Onwards and upwards.

Man Utd fans

Stefan: Despite leading and being pegged back, this is still a game United would've lost last season. We are still showing improvement and there is still something to build on. If you can't win, make sure you don't lose.

Mark: Almost lost this game due to not being competitive enough on too many levels. Poor defending, lacklustre midfield and attack and giving the ball away cheaply yet again. All these faults need to be addressed in order to continue to moving upwards.

Edward: This defence is really getting embarrassing - playing Diogo Dalot and Luke Shaw together just doesn't work. I can see that, the fans also see it, so how on earth does the manager not?

Robert: If there is improvement, I don't see it. When you are losing and you have a very ineffective centre-forward on the field, why wouldn't you replace him? Why change out the backline when you need to get forward and score goals. United were very lucky to escape with a point.

Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray: "It is a positive thing to say on this occasion. I think it was a marked improvement om the Bournemouth performance. The reaction today was first class I thought. We came in at half time a bit aggrieved with the situation but we haven't dealt with the situation either, so we have to do better with that. But second half the reaction was excellent."

Dyche on controversy over the awarding of a corner for Manchester United for their first goal: "The thing that is really annoying. The assistant is 75 yards away, how can you see that? Those decisions are massively important. The goal line technology says if one millimetre is on the line, it's not a goal. However closely we look at this, it is on the line. Why not just use VAR for that one, it'll take five seconds. Don't give it from that distance. If you're 10 yards away I may give the benefit of the doubt but not 70-80 yards away. I am aware there have to be rules but there has to be an override for me. There has to be someone who overrides it and says that can't count as the ball was in.

"The reaction today was first class from the players. The fans were brilliant as well, especially when we got the second. The noise, tremendous."

Listen to Dyche speak to BBC Radio Nottingham here

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has praised the "courage and selflessness" of those caught up in a mass stabbing on a train on Saturday night.

Eleven people were injured and received hospital treatment after the attack, which took place on a train travelling from Doncaster to London.

Two British men in their thirties were arrested and police said there was currently "nothing to suggest" it was a terror incident.

Forest said some of the club's London-based supporters were travelling home from their fixture against Manchester United.

"The Club is aware that many individuals demonstrated extraordinary bravery which undoubtedly helped prevent even greater harm," a statement read.

"The entire Nottingham Forest family stands firmly behind them as they recover from the events of yesterday."

Evangelos Marinakis, Nottingham Forest's owner, said: "Everyone at Nottingham Forest is shocked and deeply saddened by what happened. The courage and selflessness shown by our supporters on that train represents the very best of humanity and the very best of our club's community.

"We will make sure any supporter caught up in this incident receives whatever financial support they require to enable them to access the best possible medical care as they recover. Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected."

Pundits Alan Shearer and Ashley Williams join host Gabby Logan to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

• Nottingham Forest 2-2 Manchester United

• Tottenham 0-1 Chelsea

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Seven days ago, one of the central midfielders heavily linked with a move to Manchester United - Brighton's Carlos Baleba - failed to shine at Old Trafford.

Nottingham Forest's Elliot Anderson is another, but he did much better against Ruben Amorim's team.

Anderson played with an energy Baleba lacked. He was aware of danger, nipping in to seize possession from Matheus Cunha close to his own area midway through the first half, and he was not worried about chasing down lost causes, as he did to retrieve a ball that seemed certain to roll over the line in front of the home dugout.

He picked his moments to push forward and would have been in a shooting position close to goal had he been able to control Callum Hudson-Odoi's short pass on the edge of the area just before half-time.

The England international was also involved in Forest's equaliser, helping to ferry the ball to the right where Ryan Yates floated it in for Morgan Gibbs-White to head home.

Once Forest were in front, Anderson worked tirelessly to keep United at bay.

The way he maintained his discipline - with and without the ball - to not stray out of position was impressive. He was also not scared of a tactical foul as he brought down Bruno Fernandes late in the game, close to the halfway line, as the visiting captain threatened a dangerous counter-attack.

Anderson might have won it at the end for the home side, but his shot hit Luke Shaw and flashed wide.

Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has been speaking to Sky Sports about the controversial corner that led to Manchester United's first goal: "It's not inconclusive, I've seen it back. That's two decisions that are incorrect that have gone against us. They [the assistant referees] give corners that aren't corners. They gave one last week and one this week.

"It is a really poor decision that decides a lot. We are fighting for our lives to get up the table."

Nottingham Forest captain Morgan Gibbs-White has also been speaking to Sky Sports about the result: "It is good to get a point, but the dressing room is frustrated to not get all three [points]. We conceded two silly corners, and I don't think the first one was even a corner.

"From where I was standing, I was pretty far away, but all the boys were saying at half-time that the ball hadn't gone out. It is something that needs looking at because it has cost us two extra points today.

"It is time to kick on. We need to start getting more points."

Did you know?

• Sean Dyche has only won one of his 19 Premier League matches against Manchester United (D6 L12). Only against Manchester City (0.33) does he have a lower points-per-game ratio in the competition than against the Red Devils (0.47).

• Nottingham Forest have conceded 16 Premier League goals from set pieces (excluding penalties) this year - the most of any team in the competition in 2025.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

What did you make of Manchester United's display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Sean Dyche resists the temptation to make changes to the side that lost at Bournemouth last Sunday, as he looks to win their first league game since the opening weekend.

Former Manchester City youngster James McAtee has still started just once since his £30m summer move.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Savona, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Douglas Luiz, Anderson, Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus

Substitutes: John Victor, Morato, Sangare, Awoniyi, Kalimuendo, Hutchinson, Yates, Jair Cunha, McAtee

Ruben Amorim names an unchanged side as Manchester United chase a fourth successive win, which would move them up to second in the Premier League table.

Harry Maguire returns to the bench after missing last week's victory against Brighton with a minor injury.

Manchester United XI: Lammens, Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw, Amad, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Dalot, Mbeumo, Cunha, Sesko

Substitutes: Bayindir, Mazraoui, Maguire, Mount, Zirkzee, Dorgu, Ugarte, Heaven, Mainoo

There are seven games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Brighton v Leeds

• Burnley v Arsenal - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Crystal Palace v Brentford

• Fulham v Wolves

• Nottingham Forest v Manchester United - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Tottenham v Chelsea (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Liverpool v Aston Villa (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Burnley v Arsenal" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Tottenham v Chelsea", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

The Nottingham Forest fans seem to be happy with Sean Dyche as manager and I think they will be patient with him - he has that affiliation with the club after starting his playing career there.

I think they might have to wait a bit longer for his first Premier League win, though.

Manchester United have picked up a bit, and Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha are proving me right after I said in the summer they would prove to be great signings.

They bring great variation when they play together - Mbeumo runs in behind, while Cunha comes deep looking for the ball to feet - and they both link the attack so well.

Defensively, there are still problems with United, however.

They have put together a three-game winning streak but they are not at the stage where I trust them to turn up every week, and I can see that run coming to an end here.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Matthew Hobbs
BBC Sport journalist

Sean Dyche takes charge of his first Premier League home game as Nottingham Forest head coach against a Manchester United side who have won three games in a row for the first time under head coach Ruben Amorim.

BBC Sport examines some of the key themes ahead of Saturday's clash at the City Ground.

United winning with confidence

Amorim puts United's upturn in fortunes down to one of football's most valuable commodities – confidence.

Following the 4-2 win against Brighton at Old Trafford last weekend, Amorim said: "I think (the players) are more confident.

"I think the best game we did this season was against Arsenal (a 1-0 defeat) but then, when you are a little bit more confident, when you have a different spirit, sometimes you have a little bit of luck in certain moments of the game that help you to win."

From matchday three onwards, only Arsenal have picked up more points than United's 15, while Amorim's side are the leading scorers in the division during this period with 14 goals.

A switch in focus to more direct attacks has helped United's cause in recent weeks – particularly utilising long balls from goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who has replaced Altay Bayindir over the last three matches.

Bryan Mbeumo's return to form has also underpinned United's rise to sixth in the Premier League table.

The £65m summer signing's brace against Brighton made it three goals in two matches following one in his opening seven league appearances since joining from Brentford.

Only Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah have been involved in more Premier League goals in 2025 than Mbeumo's 20 and the forward's form is another example of the increasing confidence at Old Trafford.

Dyche lost his first Premier League game as Forest boss 2-0 at Bournemouth last Sunday.

While Dyche later said that Forest had been unable to live with Bournemouth physically, his side's approach at the Vitality Stadium reflected tactics typically associated with the former Everton and Burnley manager.

Forest played 16.9% of their passes long against the Cherries, far higher than their average of 8.5% under Ange Postecoglou, while goalkeeper Matz Sels played 25 long passes versus Bournemouth, the most by a Forest player in a game this season.

Since the start of 2024-25, Dyche's teams (Forest and Everton) have played more long balls than any other Premier League side and recorded the fewest sequences of 10 passes or more.

Such an approach may well suit a squad used to playing direct football under former boss Nuno Espirito Santo to great success, but Forest's failure to score in Dyche's opening league outing is a familiar problem for their manager.

Dyche has now seen his teams fail to score in 10 of his last 14 Premier League games, including nine with Everton.

Among managers to take charge of 150 games in Premier League history, Dyche's goals-per-game ratio of 0.97 is the lowest of them all.

Image source, Getty Images

Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche says he has to be "realistic" about the club's recent goalscoring troubles and that he and his staff "haven't got magic dust".

Despite finding the net five times in three Europa League matches, Forest are on a run of just one goal in seven Premier League matches - stretching across Ange Postecoglou's short tenure back to Nuno Espirito Santo's final game in charge in August.

"It's certainly a big challenge," Dyche told BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray.

"I'm very experienced nowadays in the Premier League and so are my staff, but we haven't got magic dust.

"You can't just suddenly make people score lots of goals. What you are doing is trying to form a style of play that creates more chances and better chances and then it inevitably comes down to someone putting it in the net.

"It's been an ongoing challenge from last season as well. If you took Woody's [Chris Wood] goals out of it suddenly you go 'woah it's a whole bigger challenge'.

"Towards the end of last season going into this season, if you look at the facts and stats - just to share it honestly there is no brushing it under the carpet.

"We have to look honestly at what the group were, are, and what we have to change it to. We have to be realistic and equally look at the talent we've got and think how can we form more chances and a better quality of chance with what we've got while keeping the back door unlocked - which they did so well last season.

"We have to find the balance but the balance has been clearly wrong since the end of last season to the beginning of this season where the team has not scored as many and conceded more.

"That has been apparent to everyone and now it's our job to tighten up both boxes because that's where the real stuff happens.

"That's the biggest thing we're trying to fathom - what makes us good in our box defensively and what can allow us the freedom to go and attack and create more chances.

"That's what we're trying to sort out here."

Readers can digest on the post below where Colin Fray said the Reds' scoring record is a "horrendous statistic" and brings with it a significant hurdle when battling relegation.

Listen to the full chat with Dyche on BBC Sounds

Listen to live commentary of Nottingham Forest v Manchester United on Saturday from 15:00 GMT on BBC Sounds

Image source, Getty Images

BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray says Nottingham Forest's run of scoring just one goal in their past seven Premier League games is a "relegation statistic".

Forest's only goal in this period was a Neco Williams strike in a 1-1 draw against Burnley under Ange Postecoglou in September.

Sean Dyche confirmed on Thursday that Chris Wood will not be fit to face Manchester United on Saturday and summer signing Igor Jesus is yet to open his Premier League account, despite scoring three times in the Europa League and twice in the Carabao Cup.

"It's got to be worry - scoring goals is what it is about," Fray told the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast.

"When you add in pre-season, where they barely scored a goal, this has been going on for some time.

"The outlier at the minute seems to be that opening-day win over Brentford when they scored three goals in half an hour.

"To have gone seven Premier League matches, under three different managers, scoring only one goal is a horrendous statistic.

"It is definitely one that will be worrying Dyche. Yes, they're scoring goals in the cup competitions, but it's not many from open play.

"There is an issue with the number of goals scored and, in recent games, chances created. Against Bournemouth, they created very little.

"There were a couple of games in the early stages under Postecoglou where it was chance after chance so maybe it is a little bit of a confidence issue as well."

Fray added: "There is a bit in Forest where they are just not getting the ball into the penalty area when they are in the situation where they might be able to, or as much as Dyche would want them to.

"They are perhaps looking up and seeing nobody to aim at, or have only got the striker up there with no midfielders getting forward.

"It's a combination of all these factors that is leading to a drought in front of goal in the league.

"It's a relegation statistic - if you can't score goals, you have no hope."

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim and Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche both respond to the Englishman's comments from earlier this year that he would win more games as Red Devils manager using a 4-4-2 formation.

This - it seems - is the season of the set piece.

The Premier League debates are more about dead balls than ever before, with some sides enjoying immense success from corner kicks, throw ins or well-worked free-kicks.

What fine timing then for BBC Sport to launch a column with former manager Tony Pulis, a man who seemed to finely extract the fine margins from the game.

You can take in Tony's column on set pieces here

On the latest episode of Shut Up And Show More Football, BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray and David Jackson take a closer look at Nottingham Forest's new era under Sean Dyche - what is changing in terms of style, structure and mentality.

There is also a discussion about whether Forest have what it takes to stay clear of a relegation battle this season.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Nat Hayward
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Sean Dyche has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Manchester United at the City Ground (15:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Dyche began by providing an update on Chris Wood's fitness: "Wood is possible for the Leeds game, but won't make this one."

• Elsewhere, Oleksandr Zinchenko's return is "taking longer than we thought", Dilane Bakwa is "still a no but is making good progress", Ola Aina is "making good progress" and Angus Gunn has "opened up his knee ligaments".

• On comments he made on 'The Overlap' suggesting he could have won more games than Ruben Amorim as United boss: "I didn't question him as a person and I would never do that. Clickbait kills anything. The basics may have worked better was my suggestion and they have changed their style, so fair play to him. They are playing quicker forward and longer, a bit tighter in getting back into their shape. That's management, that's coaching."

• On Morgan Gibbs-White: "He's a terrific professional, he comes in with a smile and wants to work. He's infectious in what he does and enjoys what he does. He, among a number of others, have taken to it really well and want to progress and move forward for the team, me, the club and the fans."

• Dyche said his side "flat-lined a bit physically and emotionally" in last weekend's defeat at Bournemouth after the "newness, freshness and new voices" that were present in the Europa League win over Porto in his first match in charge.

• More on the squad's adaptation to his methods: "It's finding that level of consistency daily and getting the players to produce that level daily. There's been a lot of changes for the players, some of them have had three managers in a very short space of time. You hope it works straight away but it is difficult to achieve that."

• On Ryan Yates: "He's been terrific. You want those kind of players to deliver out there on the pitch, of course, and that's where they really make their names but some also make it from inside the camp and what they do around the club too. He's always ready and a shining light for that."

Follow all of Thursday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to live commentary of Nottingham Forest v Manchester United on Saturday from 15:00 GMT on BBC Sounds