Nottingham Forest vs Malmo: Match preview, head-to-head, team news, key players | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest take on Swedish side Malmo FF in Thursday evening’s Europa League clash at the City Ground.

Forest secured a goalless draw at SK Sturm Graz last time out, while Malmo lost 1-0 at home to Greek side Panathinaikos.

Match preview

Forest are riding high after securing a 3-0 win at Liverpool in the Premier League on Saturday.

They now have to build on that result to beat Malmo and move up the Europa League league phase standings.

Forest started the competition poorly but have since turned the tide under manager Sean Dyche, picking up four points in two matches to sit in one of the play-off spots.

Dyche has reinstalled confidence in this Forest side and will now aim for a top-eight finish, helping them advance directly to the round of 16.

Malmo remain without a win in the competition, and a defeat for them would further increase their chances of getting eliminated.

The Swedish side have scored just twice and conceded seven goals. They need a significant improvement at both ends of the pitch, starting with this clash, to save their European ambition.

Head-to-head

Forest have faced Malmo three times in Europe, winning two and losing the other encounter.

Team news

Forest’s Ola Aina, Douglas Luiz, Chris Wood, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Dilane Bakwa, and goalkeeper Angus Gunn all remain sidelined with injuries.

The visitors will be without Arnor Sigurdsson, Gentian Lajqi, and Erik Botheim, while Daniel Gudjohnsen returns from suspension.

Key players

Nottingham Forest

Elliot Anderson: Impressed again versus Liverpool and is expected to play a key role for Forest in this game.

Igor Jesus: Joint top-scorer in the competition with three goals.

Malmo

Oscar Lewicki: Has one goal to his name in the competition, and is one of the best players in the competition for the Swedish side.

Melker Ellborg: He ranks seventh for goals prevented, underlining his impressive shot-stopping ability.

Stats from 11v11.com & sofascore.com