Preview: Leeds United vs Nottingham Forest | OneFootball

It is back-to-back fixtures in West Yorkshire for Leeds United who will be keen to recapture the momentum and strong home after falling to defeat against Premier League leaders Arsenal last time out.

Despite periods of parity to open both halves, the Whites were ultimately undone by the title-chasers’ depth and quality, having taken four points from their previous two matches beforehand.

United were forced to settle for a draw away at Everton despite James Justin’s first Premier League goal for the club early on at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The week prior, the Whites earned a memorable win over visitors Fulham at Elland Road, as Lukas Nmecha’s late strike sealed all three points in front of a raucous crowd.

Bar the Gunners’ visit, it has been a bright winter for Leeds in West Yorkshire – United have won three of their last six on home soil. Alongside the Cottagers, Daniel Farke’s team have beaten Crystal Palace and Chelsea in that spell.

The Whites are currently 16th in the table after the first 24 matches and now face the side against which they fell to a 3-1 defeat to in November, keen to avenge the result from the City Ground.

The Reds currently sit one position below in the Premier League, trailling the Whites by virtue of goals scored. After a seventh-place finish last season, which saw Forest qualify for Europe for the first time in decades, the visitors have failed to rediscover their previous highs.

In an up-and-down season so far, the East Midlands side went eight games without a win in September and October before enjoying an upturn in form under new manager Sean Dyche, who was appointed to replace Ange Postecoglou.

Since, Forest have recorded victories over Brentford, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur, and have two wins and two draws in their last four matches. On Sunday, the Reds drew 1-1 at the City Ground against Crystal Palace.

In the UEFA Europa League, Forest recently beat Ferencváros to finish in the Play-Off places after a run of four wins, two draws and two defeats.

Over the years, there have been a number of memorable encounters between the two sides. Leeds and Forest have faced each other 89 times, with the Whites winning 30 and drawing 26 of those matches. Notably in recent times, United edged past the visitors 2-1 on their last visit to West Yorkshire in April 2023.

Action from Elland Road gets underway at 8pm and you can follow all the action across leedsunited.com, as well as on LUTV.

Team news:

Ahead of the meeting, Farke confirmed Nmecha, who picked up a hamstring strain in the warm-up against Everton, remains sidelined. Anton Stach will also be out for one to two weeks after an injury sustained against Arsenal.

However, more positively, Jaka Bijol, James Justin and Daniel James return to the squad and are available for selection on Friday evening.

How to follow:

Monthly audio subscribers around the world can listen to every minute of Friday’s fixture LIVE on LUTV. Bryn Law will be joined by Tony Dorigo on commentary. Pre-match build up begins at 7:30pm with Michael Bridges and Simon Grayson in the studio! They will also be joined by Kasabian star and huge Leeds fan Chris Edwards before kick-off! The match has also been selected for television coverage in the UK by Sky Sports.

Important supporter information:

Representatives from Andy’s Man Club will also be in attendance at the game, raising awareness for Time To Talk Day 2026, the UK’s biggest mental health conversation. Volunteers from the male suicide prevention charity will be on hand to offer an outlet for anybody wanting to have an open conversation with people who care.

Discriminatory language or chanting, including tragedy chanting, is not acceptable, and you could be breaking the law. The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.

To report an incident, text LEEDS along with any relevant information including ticket details, your name and description of an incident to 60006. You will then receive an automated response which means that your report has been logged and will then be looked into.

Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle dangerous and illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour, tragedy chanting, fans entering the pitch, the use of pyros and throwing objects.

More matchday information can be found HERE.

Dedicated fixture:

The match will be dedicated to ‘Premier League With Pride’, a new initiative developed by the league to support LGBTQ+ History Month.

The Elland Road meeting will provide an opportunity to further demonstrate the club’s and the league’s commitment to supporting LGBTQ+ inclusion and make it clear that football is for everyone.

Premier League With Pride represents a move away from a single campaign moment towards a more flexible, year-round approach to LGBTQ+ inclusion, focusing on education, celebration and belonging. More can be found HERE.

The view from inside the camp:

Speaking exclusively to Premier League Productions ahead of facing his former club, goalkeeper Karl Darlow said: “We have got 14 big games coming up and we know we cannot afford to dwell on results.

“I think there is a very direct way about Forest and very threatening in terms of what they have. They have that quality in the midfield and they have the quality on the wings and up front that can hurt you. So, we need to be wary of that.

“Friday night at Elland Road – it is one to be excited about as a player and obviously the fans get excited. Everyone will be fully motivated to try and get a really positive result.”

Read the full interview HERE.

What has Daniel Farke said ahead of the match?

League position:

Top scorer:

Officials