Udinese vs Nottingham Forest Preview – prediction, team news, lineups | Pre-Season Friendly

Oliver Glasner’s Nottingham eye a win over home team Udinese in a 45-minute clash.

Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Italy, gears up to host a club-friendly fixture. English team Nottingham Forest and Italian outfit Udinese take on each other in what is set to be a thrilling contest.

Udinese finished tenth last season in Serie A. This clash is part of the triangular tournament in Italy, which consists of three 45-minute games alongside FC Barcelona. They are winless in three of their last friendly clashes and are coming after a defeat to Trabzonspor in the last game.

Jordan Zemura and Simone Pafundi have been sent on loan. The Udine outfit are yet to make any big signings. They are led by German gaffer Kosta Runjaic, who has previously been at the helm of teams like Legia Warszawa and Darmstadt.

Nottingham Forest had a terrible season domestically. Now they have acquired the services of UECL-winning gaffer Oliver Glasner from Crystal Palace, who will be keen to bring Champions League football to Nottinghamshire. They are coming after a 4-1 defeat to Sporting CP in the last game.

Ibrahim Sangare has signed a contract extension with the UEL semi-finalists. Meanwhile, Elliot Anderson has moved to Manchester City. It will be interesting to see how Glasner builds his team and if he can help Nottingham Forest emerge as one of the contenders to win the English top flight.

Kick-off:

• Location: Udine, Italy
• Stadium: Bluenergy Stadium
• Kick-off time: 11:30 p.m. IST
• Date: Saturday, 8 August
• Referee: TBD
• VAR: Not in use

Form:

Udinese (in all competitions): L-D-L-L-L

Nottingham (in all competitions): L-W-W-D-L

Players to Watch

Oumar Solet (Udinese)

The French defender has honed his skills at the Lyon youth academy. He has plied his trade with clubs like Laval and RB Salzburg before making a move to Italy with Udinese in 2025. He has been a solid presence in the defensive backline of the Serie A club.

He is also the most valuable player in the Udinese squad. He will be up against the terrifying Nottingham striking duo of Igor Jesus and Chris Wood.

The Udine outfit have been winless in the last five games. The French defender will be keen to clinch a vital clean sheet next.

Igor Jesus (Nottingham)

The Brazilian striker from Mato Grosso has played for Botafogo and Shabab Al Ahli before making a move to the highly competitive English Premier League with Nottingham Forest. He had 21 goal contributions in over 50 games for Nottingham last season.

He won the Copa Libertadores in Brazil and was one of the highest goal contributors for Forest last season. His brilliance up front propelled Nottingham to the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League in the 2025-26 season.

Match Facts

• This will be the first meeting between these two sides.
• Nottingham appointed new gaffer Oliver Glasner just a few weeks ago.
• Udinese are winless in their last five games.

Udinese vs Nottingham Forest: Betting Tips and Odds

• Nottingham to win the game
• Chris Wood to score
• Udinese 0-1 Nottingham Forest

Injury and Team News

For Udinese, Jurgen Ekkelenkamp and Alessandro Zanoli are set to miss the next game due to injury concerns.

For Nottingham, Murillo and Callum Hudson-Odoi are injured. Also, Nicolò Savona is unlikely to feature in the next game.

Head-to-Head

This will be the first meeting between these two sides.

Predicted Lineups

Udinese predicted lineup (3-4-2-1)

Edoardo Piana (GK); Enzo Ebosse, Oumar Solet, Thomas Kristensen; Idrissa Gueye, Sandi Lovrić, Oier Zarraga, Matteo Palma; Lennon Miller, Vakoun Issouf Bayo; Adam Buksa.

Nottingham predicted lineup (3-5-2)

Matz Sels (GK); Zach Abbott, Nikola Milenković, Jair Cunha; Neco Williams, Nicolás Domínguez, Morgan Gibbs-White, James McAtee, Ola Aina; Igor Jesus, Chris Wood.

Match Prediction

This is a 45-minute game, and we do not expect too many goals. Given that Nottingham’s lethal offensive duo of Jesus and Wood are expected to start, we expect Forest to win the game by a slender margin.

Prediction: Udinese 0-1 Nottingham Forest

Telecast Details

Worldwide: Prime Video

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