Sporting Lisbon vs. Nottingham Forest – News and Probable Lineups

Nottingham Forest wraps up their pre-season training in Portugal with a friendly encounter against Sporting Lisbon.

This fixture is scheduled for Friday evening, nearly nine hours after Forest plays another Portuguese team, Portimonense.

Match overview

Sporting has kicked off their pre-season campaign with three consecutive wins, highlighted by a noteworthy 4-1 victory over Scottish champions Celtic.

Following that, they thrashed Strasbourg 7-0 before securing a 2-0 win against Mônaco on Saturday, with goals from Rafael Nel and Jesse Derry.

Derry joined on a season-long loan from Chelsea and is among Sporting’s seven summer signings, alongside Ibrahima Ba, Silas Andersen, Pedro Lima, Issa Doumbia, Sergi Altimira, and Rodrigo Zalazar.

However, Sporting has also faced several significant departures, including Francisco Trincao to Al-Ahli, Morten Hjulmand to Atletico Madrid, and Geovany Quenda to Chelsea.

Additionally, Sporting is set to lose Ousmane Diomande to Friday’s rivals, prompting the team to consider further additions if they’re to compete for the Primeira Liga title after ending last season six points behind Porto.

This match against Forest serves as the club’s final pre-season outing before their new season begins with an away game against Estrela on August 8, which will be the start of seven league fixtures before the international break.

Forest will aim for improved results under new head coach Oliver Glasner following a challenging 2025-26 season where they cycled through four different managers.

Nuno Espirito Santos, Ange Postecoglou, and Sean Dyche all held managerial roles before owner Evangelos Marinakis opted for Vitor Pereira in February.

The Portuguese manager managed to ensure the Tricky Trees’ safety, but his dismissal at the season’s end was seen as somewhat unjust, as Marinakis seized the chance to appoint Oliver Glasner after his departure from Crystal Palace.

While Elliot Anderson transferred to Manchester City in a £116m deal, as of now, Forest has only made one new signing, acquiring midfielder Xaver Schlager from RB Leipzig on a free transfer.

Forest’s recruitment team will be working to secure additional signings as Glasner focuses on the six upcoming friendlies before the season kicks off, including two matches on Friday and two 45-minute encounters against Udinese and Barcelona on August 8.

The Tricky Trees have enjoyed an unbeaten pre-season, starting with a 2-0 win against local rivals Notts County, followed by a training camp in Portugal that featured a 3-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers.

They then finished their latest fixture with a 1-1 draw against Primeira Liga team Vitoria de Guimaraes, where Igor Jesus scored his third goal in three matches.

Team News

Diomande will be unavailable for selection as he could potentially be joining Forest by the time the two sides square off on Friday evening.

Eduardo Quaresma, who recently extended his contract until 2031, may be deployed in a back four alongside Georgios Vagiannidis, Eduardo Felicissimo, and Maxi Araujo.

At the forefront of their attack, Nel could be given the opportunity to lead following his goal against Mônaco over the weekend.

For Forest, their starting XI will be contingent on which players feature in the friendly against Portimonense earlier in the day, leading to uncertainty regarding their lineup for the clash with Sporting.

Swiss forward Dan Ndoye is currently on summer vacation after aiding his national team in reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.

Forest has recently confirmed a new contract for Ibrahim Sangare, who has rejoined his teammates after participating in the Ivory Coast’s World Cup campaign, although it’s uncertain if he’ll be ready for either of the matches on Friday.

Sporting Lisbon probable starting XI

Virginia; Vagiannidis, Quaresma, Felicissimo, Araujo; Altimira, Doumbia; Geny, Zalazar, Goncalves; In the

Nottingham Forest probable starting XI

Sels; Cunha, Milenkovic, Morato; Aina, Dominguez, Schlager, Williams; Gibbs-White, McAtee; Jesus

Forest faces a challenging matchup against one of Portugal’s top clubs, and while they remain unbeaten in pre-season, they are up against a team that has recorded three straight friendly wins, suggesting that the Tricky Trees might struggle to secure a victory on Friday.