Nottingham Forest v Leeds United: Key stats and talking points

Nottingham Forest begin Premier League life under Oliver Glasner against a Leeds United side looking to kick on after finishing in the relative comfort of 14th place last season. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes ahead of their meeting at the City Ground. Glasner's arrival after winning the FA Cup and Europa Conference League with Crystal Palace is something of a coup for a club that struggled in the league last season despite boasting a talented squad. Something of a rebuild is required after the influential Elliott Anderson departed for Manchester City and while Forest more than tripled the £35m fee paid to Newcastle United in 2024, they may take some time to adapt to losing the England international. Forest have brought in experienced Austria international Xaver Schlager as Anderson's replacement, alongside Ivory Coast defender Ousmane Diomande. In another boost, Morgan Gibbs-White appears to be staying put. With time left in the transfer window to strengthen further, perhaps what the club needs most of all is stability in the dugout. A merry-go-round of four managers last season was a key factor in Forest's difficult league campaign. They finished 16th after amassing 44 points having finished seventh with 65 the previous season. The drop-off was the third biggest negative differential in any club's points tally after Liverpool and relegated Wolves. Nottingham Forest's league form crashed last season [BBC] Each of the last six permanent Forest managers has lost their first Premier League game in charge, since Dave Bassett led them to a 1-0 win away at Spurs in March 1997. Glasner, though, may be the man to buck this trend - he's won his first league game at four of his five previous clubs. Leeds United finished eight points clear of the bottom three in 2025-26 and their supporters may also be aiming higher this season after boss Daniel Farke's backing in the transfer market. James Trafford has arrived for a fee which could rise to a record £45m for a British goalkeeper along with winger Harry Wilson, who scored 10 goals and provided seven assists for Fulham last season, and Bosnia-Herzegovina centre-back Tarik Muharemovic. Farke can take much of the credit for re-establishing Leeds at the highest level after switching to a back three in December. Leeds' form after switching to a back three in December was good enough for a European place over the rest of last season [BBC] Based on results since the change in formation was made, Leeds would have finished seventh in the Premier League table across the remainder of last season. The improvement in form was also influenced by striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He scored 14 league goals, his second-most in a top-flight campaign after 16 in 2020-21.