Glasner makes debut for Nottingham as Leeds visit.

Nottingham Forest vs. Leeds United kicks off at 15:00 [GMT+1] on Saturday, August 22, at City Ground. Forest make their debut in Saturday’s home clash against Leeds United, whom they have defeated in their last four home league meetings. They have proved particularly difficult for the Whites to beat at the City Ground in the top flight, having gone unbeaten in their last 14 home top-flight games against Leeds, winning seven and drawing seven since suffering a 2-0 defeat in the 1971-72 season. The clubs have met on the opening weekend only once before. That came in 1991-92, when Leeds recorded a 1-0 victory under Howard Wilkinson before going on to win the English top-flight title. Forest also have recent opening-day success behind them. They began last season with a 3-1 victory over Brentford and are now looking to win their first league fixture in consecutive campaigns for the first time since doing so in the Championship in 2016-17 and 2017-18. Forest endured a significant decline in their overall results last season. Their Premier League total fell from 65 points in 2024-25 to 44 in 2025-26, a decrease of 21 points. Only Liverpool and Wolves suffered larger season-on-season drops, leaving it as something the Tricky Trees will be looking to avoid this term. Igor Jesus is expected at the attacking end of a 4—2—3—1 setup.

Leeds possess an impressive opening record of their own. They have lost their first match in only two of their last 18 top-flight campaigns, winning nine and drawing seven. Those two defeats came in consecutive seasons against Liverpool in 2020-21 and Manchester United in 2021-22. Leeds had considerably greater problems away from home last term, where they collected only 15 points on their travels throughout the 2025-26 Premier League season. Only Wolves and Burnley earned fewer points on the road. Fortunately, their results improved significantly as the campaign progressed, though, with Leeds losing only two of their final 12 away league matches. Nine of those games finished level, and Leeds ended the season with nine away draws overall, the joint-highest total across Europe's five major leagues alongside Real Betis. Oliver Glasner will be hoping to get off to a winning start when he makes his managerial debut with the club. The 51-year-old has won his first league fixture with four of his previous five clubs. However, it’s important to note that the club's previous six permanent managers all lost their first Premier League matches, a sequence stretching back to Dave Bassett's winning start against Tottenham in March 1997. A 3—4—3 with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Harry Wilson, and Brenden Aaronson may be seen against Forest.