Sports Mole previews Friday’s friendly clash between Nottingham Forest and Sunderland, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Nottingham Forest and Sunderland will continue their preparations for the new season with a friendly in Spain on Saturday evening.
Sunderland have already played twice this summer, beating South Shields before losing to Gateshead, with both matches taking place last Saturday, while Forest opened their pre-season with a 3-0 success over Chesterfield.
Match preview
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Forest finished 17th in the Premier League last season, and despite being involved in a fierce relegation battle, they actually ended the campaign six points above 18th-placed Luton Town.
Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side will begin their 2024-25 Premier League campaign at home to Bournemouth on August 17, but they will play five times before then, taking on Sunderland, Millwall, Elche, Villarreal and Olympiacos.
The Reds opened their preparations for the new season with a 3-0 success over Chesterfield last Saturday, with Chris Wood, Josh Bowler and Ibrahim Sangare on the scoresheet at the SMH Group Stadium.
Forest have made four signings this summer, with the biggest of those proving to be Elliot Anderson, who has arrived at the City Ground in a surprise deal from Newcastle United.
There have also been a whole host of departures, with Moussa Niakhate making an eye-catching move to Lyon, while Orel Mangala and Remo Freuler are also among those to have departed since the end of last season.
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Sunderland, meanwhile, finished 16th in the Championship last season, so the Black Cats are preparing for a third straight campaign at this level of football.
Regis Le Bris was confirmed as their new head coach towards the end of last month, with the 48-year-old, who had been in charge of Lorient, signing a three-year contract.
Sunderland played twice last Saturday, recording a 5-0 victory over South Shields in the first part of their double-header before suffering a 2-1 defeat to Gateshead.
The Black Cats will now take on Forest, Eldense, Blackpool, Bradford City and Marseille in friendlies before opening their 2024-25 Championship campaign against Cardiff City on August 10.
Sunderland have been relatively quiet so far this summer in terms of incomings, but they have managed to boost their squad by signing Alan Browne and Simon Moore on free transfers.
Nottingham Forest friendly form:
Sunderland friendly form:
Team News
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Forest head coach Nuno is expected to again make full use of his squad in this match, as was the case in the friendly with Chesterfield last time out.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Wood could feature in the final third of the field alongside Anthony Elanga, while Callum Hudson-Odoi is also expected to receive more minutes.
Anderson started against Chesterfield following his big-money move from Newcastle, and the midfielder should again be in the XI on Saturday night.
As for Sunderland, the club confirmed earlier this week that Dan Ballard would be absent for the next six weeks due to the knee injury that he picked up against South Shields.
Dennis Cirkin made his return from a hamstring injury in the 2-1 loss to Gateshead, and he has been named in the 31-man squad for the pre-season trip to Spain.
New signings Browne and Moore are both with the squad and should feature once again, and head coach Le Bris is expected to name a strong side for the first whistle here.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Miguel; Williams, Murillo, Boly, Toffolo; Yates, Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Wood, Gibbs-White
Sunderland possible starting lineup:
Moore; Hume, O’Nien, Hjelde, Cirkin; Ekwah, Rigg, Browne; Aouchiche, Mayenda, Clarke
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Sunderland
Forest made a strong start to their pre-season last weekend and will now be eyeing another victory this weekend. Sunderland have brought a strong squad to Spain, though, and we are expecting the spoils to be shared in this contest.
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