Postecoglou knows Forest's fortunes must change

Ange Postecoglou believes a win over Newcastle United on Sunday may be all that is needed to turn Nottingham Forest's fortunes around.

The Australian's future is already in doubt at the City Ground, as he still looks for his first win since he replaced Nuno Espirito Santo last month.

The Tricky Trees have gone winless since the opening day of the Premier League campaign, and registered their second consecutive defeat on Thursday, falling to a 3-2 loss to Midtjylland in the Europa League.

Postecoglou has taken just one point from his opening three matches (D1 L2). The last permanent Forest boss to go without a win in his first four league games was Andy Beattie back in 1960, during a run of eight.

For Postecoglou personally, the struggles continue — he has now lost 11 of his last 15 Premier League fixtures, with just one victory and three draws in that stretch.

Forest lost 1-0 to Sunderland in the league last time out, despite racking up 22 shots and dominating possession.

"When things are going well it’s rainbows and sunshine, but when the going gets tough, that’s when your belief is tested. What’s stronger and more compelling is if you can get through that period, that gives you the belief for the long-term stuff," Postecoglou said.

"Winning to ease pressure or change perceptions doesn’t last and eventually you get caught up in that.

"It’s about how you deal with the inevitable tough period that will come; at some point, a tough period will come and how you deal with that is much more important than trying to alleviate any sort of pressure.

"We need to win on Sunday because hopefully it will turn our fortunes around and we get to become the team that we want to be."

Meanwhile, Newcastle look to have hit their stride after a 4-0 demolition of Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League on Wednesday.

The Magpies conceded two late goals in a 2-1 defeat to Arsenal last weekend, having led for 50 minutes after a Nick Woltemade header, and Eddie Howe knows Forest will present a stern test.

"They have a good balance to their squad, Ange is an outstanding manager with a good track record so we know this game is a pivotal one for us going into the international break," Howe said.

Offering an injury update on Tino Livramento, who was stretchered off against Arsenal last weekend, Howe said: "The specialist confirmed it is an eight-week injury, which is a blow for us with the number of games we have in that period.

"It is a ligament injury and that's why it will take time to recover. He's already had a couple of injections in the ligament to strengthen it up."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Newcastle – Anthony Gordon

Gordon scored two penalties against USG, becoming the third Englishman to do so in a Champions League match, along with Wayne Rooney (October 2011, for Manchester United vs Otelul Galati) and Harry Kane (September 2024, for Bayern Munich vs Dinamo Zagreb, a hat-trick).

While the forward is yet to find the back of the net in the Premier League this term, he registered 15 goal involvements across all competitions last season, and will be hoping he can replicate the same form once again. 

Nottingham Forest – Dan Ndoye

Ndoye has enjoyed an encouraging start to his Forest career.

The summer signing from Bologna found the net in the Europa League on Thursday, and has now registered three goal involvements (two goals and one assist) in eight appearances across all competitions so far this season.

MATCH PREDICTION: NEWCASTLE WIN

Newcastle have come out on top in six of their last seven league clashes with Forest, winning the last three straight since a 3-1 defeat in December 2023. The Magpies have failed to string together more consecutive victories over Forest since March 1937, when they managed five in a row.

Forest’s record at St. James’ Park is equally bleak — they have lost eight of their last nine league visits there (W1), conceding 24 goals in that span.

However, Newcastle have taken just six points from six matches (W1 D3 L2) — it is their worst start under Howe, and their lowest points tally after six games since 2021-22 under Steve Bruce (three).

Forest, meanwhile, sit on five points (W1 D2 L3), with most of those earned under former boss Nuno.

Postecoglou won his first Premier League clash against Newcastle in December 2023, but has since fallen to three straight defeats to the Magpies, losing by a combined score of 8-2.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Newcastle – 56%

Draw – 22.7%

Nottingham Forest – 21.3%