Oliver Glasner begins his Nottingham Forest reign with a difficult test on Saturday as Leeds United arrive at the City Ground looking to build on an impressive end to last season.

Forest eventually finished 16th after a turbulent campaign and Glasner is now their fifth permanent manager in little more than a year. The former Crystal Palace boss has wasted little time implementing his familiar back-three system, with £34m signing Ousmane Diomande expected to slot in alongside Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo.

Leeds should provide a useful early test of how quickly those changes have settled.

Daniel Farke’s own switch to a back three transformed Leeds last season. They lost only five of their final 25 Premier League games and became particularly difficult to beat away from home, drawing nine of their final 12 league matches on the road.

They have carried that momentum into the summer, with wins over Sunderland, Liverpool, RB Leipzig and Augsburg among a largely positive run of pre-season results. Dominic Calvert-Lewin also looks sharp after finishing last season as Leeds’ leading scorer with 15 goals in all competitions.

Forest still have more than enough quality to cause problems, particularly with Morgan Gibbs-White operating behind Chris Wood and potentially Igor Jesus. However, Glasner has admitted that his side are still working towards their best level and described Leeds as an extremely physical team with a significant set-piece threat.

There is very little between these sides on paper and Leeds look well equipped to make this an uncomfortable opening afternoon for their hosts.

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What are the best picks for Nottingham Forest vs Leeds?

Leeds United: Double chance

Forest’s home record in this fixture makes them worthy favourites, but the price on a home win does not particularly appeal given how difficult Leeds became to beat during the second half of last season.

The Whites lost only twice across their final 12 Premier League away games, although nine draws during that run also highlight why backing them outright comes with plenty of risk.

Forest should have spells where their attacking quality puts Leeds under pressure, particularly at the City Ground, but there is not enough between these teams to confidently side with either.

Under 2.5 goals

Last season’s two meetings both finished 3-1, so there is an obvious argument against expecting a low-scoring game.

The circumstances are quite different this time, with both teams expected to line up with three centre-backs while Forest are still working through the early stages of Glasner’s tactical changes.

Leeds have become considerably more disciplined under Farke and should have little interest in turning an opening-day away fixture into an end-to-end contest.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin to score anytime

Calvert-Lewin enjoyed an excellent first full season with Leeds, finishing as their leading scorer with 15 goals in all competitions and establishing himself as the focal point of Farke’s attack.

His physical presence could be particularly useful against Forest, with Glasner expected to start Diomande alongside Milenkovic and Murillo in an imposing back three.

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Where can I watch Nottingham Forest vs Leeds?

Nottingham Forest vs Leeds kicks off at 3:00 PM BST on Saturday, August 22 at the City Ground.

The game falls under the traditional Saturday 3pm blackout and will therefore not be shown live on television in the UK.

What have the managers said?

Oliver Glasner:

Glasner expects a difficult opening test against a Leeds side he believes are particularly strong physically and from dead-ball situations.

“Very stable, incredibly physical, very strong at set-pieces. That will be a really tough nut to crack right at the start.”

The Forest boss also admitted his side are still adapting to his methods ahead of the new campaign.

“We still have some homework to do. I don’t think we can get everything done before the league opener.”

Daniel Farke:

Farke was positive about Leeds’ preparations following an encouraging pre-season.

“Good, we had a great preseason, looking forward to it.”

The Leeds boss also made it clear that his side will not abandon the approach that served them well last season.

“We keep our values, stick to DNA, we want to attack, take control of games.”

What is Nottingham Forest’s predicted team?

Starting XI: Sels; Diomande, Milenkovic, Murillo; Aina, Schlager, Sangare, Williams; Gibbs-White, Jesus; Wood.

Injured: Ryan Yates, Nicolo Savona.

Ryan Yates remains unavailable, while Savona has suffered a minor setback in his recovery from a knee injury.

Diomande is pushing to make his competitive debut following his £34m arrival, with Glasner expected to deploy the back three that became such a feature of his Crystal Palace side.

What is Leeds’ predicted team?

Starting XI: Trafford; Rodon, Bijol, Muharemovic; Bogle, Ampadu, Stach, Justin; Wilson, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin.

Injured: Willy Gnonto, Gabriel Gudmundsson.

James Trafford is expected to start in goal, while Tarik Muharemovic could make his full debut alongside Joe Rodon and Jaka Bijol in defence.

Farke confirmed ahead of the game that Gnonto and Gudmundsson are unavailable, but otherwise has a strong squad to choose from for the opening weekend.

Score prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Leeds United

Forest have enough quality to make home advantage count for something, but Leeds arrive with greater continuity, an established system and plenty of evidence from last season that they know how to grind out results away from Elland Road.

A competitive game decided by fine margins looks likely, with 1-1 our pick at the City Ground.

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