MISS! Nottingham Forest 3-0 Midtjylland (Simsir)
Chilufya slips, sends the ball over the top, and Forest are into the quarter-finals!
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 3-0 Midtjylland (Williams)
Another gorgeous penalty, Williams opening his body to punch into the top-right! One more Midtjylland miss or Forest goal and it’s over!
POST! Nottingham Forest 2-0 Midtjylland (Simsir)
Oh my days! Simsir also picks out the left-hand post, a little higher up as Ortega goes the right way, and Forest are nearly there!
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 2-0 Midtjylland (Sangare)
A beautiful penalty, placed into the roof near the top right.
POST! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Midtjylland (Cho)
Cho sends Ortega right and goes left, only to hit the base of the post full in the face!
GOAL! Nottingham Forest 1-0 Midtjylland (Gibbs-White)
Lots of waving behind the keeper to ignore, but he digs out a pen that Olafsson, picking correctly, helps into the left side-netting. Dicey!
The penalties will be taken at the home end but Forest will go first, Gibbs-White holding the ball. The fear will be kicking in now…
Increasingly, I find myself backing the side with the more technically secure players in shoot-outs. For that reason, I fancy Forest but Olafsson looks really confident.
FULL TIME: Midtjylland (2) 1-2 (2) Nottingham Forest
Penalties it is. This is a massive stress for both sides, neither of whom a regular presences in European quarter-finals.
120+1 min Anderson into Lucca, who can’t quite force through for Gibbs-White, so Forest spread, Sangare finding Aina, whose left-footed cross drifts behind.
120 min We’ll have two additional minutes and Midtjylland win a throw, Bech to hurl in; Forest clear then, with bodies inside the box, Bravo shanks over the top.
119 min Yup, offside and no goal.
119 min VAR is looking and taking its time, but it looks pretty clear to me: as Anderson prepares to cross, Yates makes his move, and you can see he’s beyond.
118 min Sangare does well and finds Aina, who sweeps a long, crossfield pass out to Lucca. Williams then takes over and finds Anderson on the right, who swings over a cross and Yates is there, in front of his man, heading a banger inside the near post … but immediately, the flag goes up, and on replay, the onfield call looks the correct one.
117 min The home fans try to rouse their team, but penalties are imminent.
115 min Forest win a free-kick on the left touchline just inside the Midtjylland half, and Anderson floats a poor effort straight into the keeper’s gloves. Olafsson has played well tonight; I bet he fancies penalties.
114 min At Villa Park, it’s still 0-0 on the night, 1-0 Villa on aggregate; back in Denmark, Anderson is booked for something, no one seems to know what, and he’ll miss the first leg of any quarter-final Forest make.
112 min Murillo ploughs through Cho and the ref tries to let it go, but Midtjylland lose the ball so he pulls it back for a free-kick. In co-comms, Joe Hart kvels in how many tackles are being let go, then the ball comes in and Gabriel can’t get proper contact on his header.
111 min I’d thought Anderson, Sangare and Gibbs-White wold take control of this game as Midtjylland tired, but it’s not happened – they need a bit more tempo to their passing and to get a bit closer together, I think.
110 min Yates lofts one through for Lucca, Bech running across him … and doing just enough to make the ensuing tangle accidental.
108 min With no one near him, Yates pulls up and sits down. I think he’ll be alright to carry on, but in the meantime he’s at the side as Midtjylland have a free-kick following a Sangare foul; Forest get it away.
106 min A Williams throw finds Yates on the by-lie, but his attempted cross is blocked clear.
106 min We go again…
HALF-TIME IN EXTRA TIME: Midtjylland (2) 1-2 (2) Nottingham Forest
After the Forest goal disallowed for offside, not much happened, but we expected that, right? We persevere with extra time because the one in 30 that’s good is worth the other 29 that aren’t.
105 min We’ll have one additional minute. Neither set is settling for penalties, but does either have the quality to force a winner? Well, Cho fancies it, swivelling on to a bouncing ball and lashing a shot that Ortega shovels behind; the corner comes to nowt.
104 min Bravo runs at the Forest midfield but Sangare won’t give him any space, forcing the pass into touch.
103 min Another change for Midtjylland, Chilufya on for Osorio.
102 min Forest continue pushing, but lack a striker; Chris Wood should be back for the final few games, by which time they’d really hope to be safe. Anyhow, Erlic is turned by Lucca, pulls him back, and though the ref lets play go, as soon as there’s a break he shows a yellow card. If Midtjylland make the semis, Erlic won’t be playing.
100 min In Larnaca, Sarr has scored his second of the night to put Palace 2-1 up on the night and on aggregate.
98 min Forest have Midtjylland boxed now, a lovely flick around the corner from Gibbs-White ushering Yates past him; from 15 yards and moving away from goal, he slices wide of the near post.
96 min Forest are again dominating possession, Sangare and Anderson taking a hold of midfield. But they can’t quite find a way through and Midtjylland clearly fancy themselves on the counter.
95 min Lucca holds up well and backheels adroitly, then Aina fights his way through a couple of challenges, only to overhit his cross.
Updated
93 min Midtjylland did, I think, have the edge in the second half but, at the end, it was Forest looking to win it. Anyway, back to the now, Murillo leaps through Castillo and is booked.
Updated
91 min Gibbs-White sticks Aina away at inside-right and he slides into the middle for Lucca who finishes well … but was shoved offside.
91 min We go again…
Changes for Forest: Sangare replaces Dominguez, while Midtjylland try Gabriel for Diao.
Elsewhere, Freiburg have beaten Genk 5-1 on the night and 5-2 on aggregate, while Vigo have won Lyon 2-0 on the night and 3-1 on aggregate. In the Conference, Larnaca and Palace have also gone to extra time.
FULL TIME: Midtjylland (2) 1-2 (2) Nottingham Forest
A bruising ruckus of a contest goes to extra time, and so say all of us.
90+3 min Aina bundles through a challenge and into the box, looking to square for Gibbs-White and winning a corner. This time, Anderson looks for Aina around the penalty spot, and Olafsson does really well to come through a crowd and claim.
90+2 min The corner is headed away but Forest come again; they won’t want extra time, but their big plaers haven’t played a full 90.
90 min We’ll have four additional minutes, which begin with Aina sending another throw into the box, headed behind for a corner. Who wants to be a hero? Anderson to swing in…
90 min Castillo draws in Murillo and spins him then, when Murillo tackles back, he tries desperately to fall over inside the box, taking a knee to the heed for his trouble and winning a corner … which is cleared by the first man.
89 min The ball in is decent, bouncing, and both Murillo and Gibbs-White miss their headers.
88 min Gibbs-White holds up, backing in, then rolls off for the onrushing Yates; Bravo pulls him down and is booked, so Anderson will now float in a free-kick from the right…
Updated
86 min The corner comes to nowt, and it looks like there’ll be another half-hour of this slugfest. Don’t mind if we do.
85 min Midtjylland win a corner, go short, and Gibbs-White steals it, nipping ahead of Simsic and dashing down the left before feeding infield to Aina, stomping on to it. he shoots uppishly … and Olafsson tips over the top.
82 min “To answer Justin Kavanagh’s question of which Leeds representative would be sent to retrieve the 1975 European Cup winners’ medal from the Kaiser’s estate,” begins Tim Smith.. As I contemplated the question, I realised just how many of the great (and hard) men had passed. Made me a little sad. Then I realised that it would obviously be Joe Jordan, who, as we all know, has a little previous in dealing with sensitive European situations.”
I remember Graeme Souness on Sky, rubbing his thighs, fantasising about what Jordan would’ve done to Gattuso in a square go.
81 min Williams hares after a ball, keeps it in, and somehow wins a throw off Diao. So from right next to the corner flag, Aina winds up … and flings straight into Olafsson’s gloves.
80 min Anderson battles through two challenges that try and bring him down, no free-kick given, then Midtjylland counter, Castillo crossing low from the right, just behind Osorio, then Bravo shoots ow from the edge, a deflection taking the ball into Cho’s path, eight yards out, but from an acute angle, and Ortega spreads himself superbly to block. This is a seriously physical contest now, the teams duking it out with increasing violence; it’s great stuff, almost a throwback.
Updated
79 min Murillo drills a lovely ball out to Gibbs-White on the right and he forces his way infield, looking to open up a shooting lane, eventually poking a tame effort just wide of the near post. We’re 10 minutes and change away from extra time.
76 min “While I agree that Senegal’s behaviour against Morocco can’t be normalised,”: says Geoff Wignall, “the answer to your question of what were Caf supposed to do is ... nothing.
As others have said, the ref could have abandoned the match in Morocco’s favour. That is doubtless what should have happened: bit didn’t and that has to be the end of it.
Otherwise the fundamental and absolute principle (and rule) of the ref being the final arbiter of all that occurs during a game lies shredded. Only the lawyers could possibly welcome that.”
But what if the ref doesn’t feel empowered to do that, or considers it unsafe so to do? It’s taken Caf months to arrive at their decision, yet we’re expecting a ref to do so in seconds, with the potential for things to turn seriously ugly? I also don’t think the ref’s decision is always final; consider the FA Cup tie between Arsenal and Sheffiled United in 1998-99, for example.
75 min Double change for Forest, Bakwa and McAtee, both of whom have played well, replaced by Aina and Anderson.
74 min For the first time tonight, Midtjylland are the better side, Osorio looking to cross from the right and winning a throw, so here comes Bech again ... and this time when Forest clear, Simsic hoists a cross over the bar.
72 min Join Scott Murray for Villa v Lille, Villa up 1-0 from the first leg.
70 min McAtee sashays thorugh midfield so Osorio pulls him down and is booked.
GOAL! Midtjylland (2) 1-2 (2) Nottingham Forest (Erlic 69)
Castillo swerves in a fine cross from the left and Cho’s flick-on hits Morato then drops in front of Erlic, who does a brilliant job of controlling his shot, hitting a rising ball high into the roof of the net. This is a terrific contest.
Updated
67 min They announce an attendance of roughly 10,500, meaning 20% of the town are in the ground; decent. Otherwise, Midtjylland win another throw inside the Forest half which Bech hurls in; Forest half-clear…
Updated
66 min Do we think Gibbs-White is going to the World Cup? I’d sort of like him to as I love him as a player, but I’m not sure in what situation I’d bring him on, given the other options available – and I feel similarly about Jarrod Bowen.
65 min In Cyprus, Larnaca have equalised to make it 1-1 against Palace, on the night and on aggregate.
64 min Midtjylland clear the first ball and the second, another cross but from the other side, flies behind.
63 min forest have played so much better than they did, also with a second XI, at home to Fener; they’ve been confident, composed and enterprising and, as I type, Williams sneaks a corner off Osorio, Bakwa to take it.
62 min I like those changes. Gibbs-White will add bite and threat on the counter, while Williams and Murillo will fortify a defence likely to come under pressure in the next half-hour.
61 min Triple change for Forest: off go Milenkovic, Hutchinson and Ndoye; on come Williams, Murillo and Gibbs-White.
Updated
60 min Midtjylland are improving, Simsir standing up a cross to the far post and Ndoye standing his ground under the ball before Morato heads away. Good defending.
Updated
58 min Forest win a corner down the left which Midtjylland clear, but they’re still well on top in the game. I wonder if Pereira is tempted to bring on a big-hitter or two now; I’d fancy a bit of Igor Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White if I was him but, in the meantime, Beck hurls in a long through, first contact going up in the air and Ortega claiming with the second.
57 min “One positive I’ve been clinging to in light of the ludicrous Senegal/Morocco debacle,” begins Justin Kavanagh. “Perhaps this means there’s still a chance that Leeds will finally be rightly installed as 1975 European Cup Winners. I wonder who they’ll send round to the Beckenbauer household to retrieve the late Kaiser’s medal?”
56 min Brumado clips Dominguez and is quickly replaced by Cho, perhaps because he’s in danger of getting himself sent off.
54 min Brumado burrows towards the Forest area and goes down under pressure from behind; he wants a penalty, but the ref says no foul from Dominguez.
WHAT A GOAL! Midtjylland (1) 0-2 (2) Nottingham Forest (Yates 52)
McAtee, who’s been brilliant, wriggles in from the right and feed Yates on the edge, who takes a toch towards his left foot then reverse a glorious shot, on the tumble, that fizzes past Olafsson and into the side-netting, halfway up! A brilliant goal which reflects a brilliant performance – so far.
Updated
51 min Milenkovic braces under a high ball, turning his shoulder to it, as Brumado charges into him, eyes on the prize. He’s booked and will miss Midtjylland’s next game – if there is one.
49 min “While I don’t disagree with you that there should be consequences when players leave the field of play,” begins Kári Tulinius, “it needs to be mentioned for context that in the 2019 CAF Champions League final, the referee declared the second leg forfeit because Wydad Casablanca stormed off. CAF ordered that the match be replayed, which was overturned by CAS. The Afcon final ref should’ve declared Morocco the winners, but understandably he thought that CAF was against that sort of thing, and here we are.”
Yes, I guess expecting a ref having a stinker to make a decision of that magnitude was too much to expect – and perhaps he was concerned about consequences too, whereas this way, Senegal’s anger can be contained.
48 min Forest move forward again, Hutchinson sent down the left by a simple header from Morato, Castillo mistiming his jump underneath it. The resultant cross is a decent one too, but the ball won’t come down for Yates, who slices a shot over the bar before the flag goes up for offside.
47 min Osorio pulls left, steps infield, and wafts a curler way away form the top corner; on the touchline, Tullberg drinks water and gozzes it on the floor like a proper hard man. But can he squirt it through the gap in his teeth?
46 min Midtjylland make two changes: Lee for the anonymous Andreasen and Simsir for Billing.
46 min We go again.
Europa League half-times
Lyon (1) 0-0 (1) Celta Vigo
Freiburg (2) 2-1 (2) Genk
Meantime, in the Conference League, Palace lead Larnaca 1-0 on the night and on aggregate.
Half-time reading:
HALF-TIME: Midtjylland (1) 0-1 (1) Nottingham Forest
An excellent first 45 from Forest, who missed various chances in the course of dominating, then eventually took one to level the tie. The second period should be a belter.
45 min We’ll have one additional minute. On the touchline, Tullberg is raging; his players are going to hear some thoughts in the very near future.
45 min McAtee intercepts in midfield and finds Dominguez who spins and slides Hutchinson away at inside-right; he springs forward shoots low … and wide of the far post.
44 min Ndoye appears on the left and crosses looking for Lucca, but puts to much on it. The big Italian has been much better tonight than when I’ve seen him previously, putting himself about and giving the Midtjylland defenders a really hard time.
43 min I’ll keep saying it: Forest have no business being in a relegation battle.
GOAL! Midtjylland (1) 0-1 (1) Nottingham Forest (Dominguez 41)
Bakwa goes short to Hutchinson and accepts his return, now with a much better angle from which to cross. And again, he swings in a beauty, Milenkovic leaping like a bison on a trampoline to win first contact and knock the ball back into the middle, whereupon Dominguez wrenches his neck muscles to control a loopy effort over Olafsson and in. The tie is level and that’s no more than Forest deserve. They’ve been superb so far.
Updated
40 min Tuiberg changes his mind and the subs sit down, but Forest come again, McAtee, the best player on the pitch so far, ducking inside Diao then nipping outside and shooting … to win a corner via a slight deflection.
39 min The ball makes its way back to Ortega, who tries to turn away from Osario – that is dicey as you like – and just about bundles his way past. Then Forest counter, Lucca knocks sown, and Bakwa shoots wide from the edge.
38 min Mike Tullberg mustn’t like what he’s seeing because he’s readying two subs.
37 min “What happened at Afcon was terrible even by Brazilian standards,” says Paul Moody, the lucky blighter in the morth east of that insanely wonderful country. “Should have been decided within a week (maximum). Why so long?”
I’m sure there’s an answer to that, but I don’t know what it is.
35 min Forest win another corner which is cleared to the edge; McAtee shoots, the effort is blocked and the ball flies ito the air, Dominguez trying an overhead kick which is saved.
33 min Forest are playing really well now; Midtjylland are rocking.
31 min Long ball from Abbott finds Milenkovic, still up from the corner, a hanging leap knocks down for Lucca … and his eyes light up, snatching at a sliced shinner which goes over the top. That was a great chance and Forest come again, Hutchinson crossing and Yates stooping into a glance; if there’s someone at the back post, they can run it in, but no one is.
30 min Again, Bakwa’s delivery is good, swinging in to the back post, and Dominguez heads back, almost form over the by-line, but Lucca can’t force it over the line, Billing kicking clear.
Updated
28 min McAtee is playing much better than against Fener, he and Hutchinson combining to win a free-kick 30-odd yards out, almost dead centre. McAtee sends it right – to Hutchinson, who’s wandered over thataway, and his cross is blocked behind for another corner.
26 min Forest are playing pretty well here and when McAtee picks up the possession between the lines in midfield, he curves a lush ball in behind and Yates is marching on to it! But it won’t quite sit down when he wants it to, so he has to hit it on the rise … and gets a good chunk of it, lashing a shot against the face of the bar and out! Great pass, great effort.
25 min Now Midtjylland win a free-kick, near the right touchline, and the ball in is a decent one, Bech flicking on across the face, with Billing not quite able to get over it as he head for goal.
24 min “I understand wanting to punish Senegal for acting like a bunch of entitled children,” says Justin Madson. “Pulling your team off the pitch because you disagree with a call is beyond the pale. However, both teams had their chances to take the win. If the authorities don’t take action in the moment, it’s incredibly difficult to go back and change the match result after giving both teams an opportunity to play it out. Particularly with Morocco being a host country whose ball boys are on camera stealing equipment and getting physical with keepers - is that worth review too?
Generally, changing a match result is something that is not an option, because if you start here where does it end? Should we go back and punish Maradona for the hand of God and re-litigate the rest of that tournament? Any VAR call that refereeing bodies later say was incorrect? I generally despise slippery slope lines of thought but I feel it’s valid for this situation.
Also - the bill banning ICE for the World Cup is nice and all, but the whole problem with them is that they ignore proper procedure and law but don’t get punished for it. While this is a nice idea, it changes nothing.”
I don’t think we’re relitigating what happened in the match, we’re punishing unacceptable behaviour pour encourager les autres.
23 min The resultant corner comes to nowt.
21 min Nice feet from McAtee help Forest win a free-kick, 25 yards out, well right of centre, but Ndoye’s delivery is poor then, seeking to retrieve the situation, he lunges into another cross that’s so poor, Hutchinson retrieves it on the other flank then plays a clever backheel to lucca, who plays a one-two with McAtee, then pokes a low shot, futsal-style, that Olafsson shovels behind.
Updated
18 min Morato and Jensen shove each other so the ref has a word, then Bakwa swings flat to the far post, great delivery, and Milenkovic is up … only to miss the ball entirely. It then hits Bravo and bounces off him to Olafsson, who collects.
16 min The kick goes short to Bakwa, who mooches down the line, crosses, and wins a corner.
15 min Abbott, just 19, starts a move that sees Ndoye away down the right.he cuts infield, seeking a shooting lane, doesn’t find one, and is crowded out. But shortly afterwards, Forest win a free-kick on the right level with the bottom of the centre-circle, and send the big men forward.
15 min In Larnaca, Ismaila Sarr has given Palace the lead – 1-0 on the night, 1-0 on aggregate.
13 min Brumado finds space in centrefield and slides a pass in behind for Osorio and for a second it looks like he’s away, but Morato does well to get back at him and make the challenge.
Updated
11 min Hutchinson finds McAtee, who lays back for Bakwa, but the pitch is a lively one and his first touch runs away from him, Castillo making the challenge before buying a free-kick.
10 min The ball comes in and the ref appraises a foul, so awards Forest a free-kick.
9 min Midtjylland are having more possession now, looking to get at Forest by passing forward quickly and getting me into the box. They find Osorio down the right, he draws Dominguez in, sticks the ball behind, and his cross is blocked, going out for a corner.
6 min “Many moons ago I went paintballing with some friends,” brags Hassan, |and in the midst of a particularly ferocious round, the hostilities were interrupted by some poor sod who got (under)paid to sprint across the battle lines in an orange spandex suit, thereby drawing flak from both sides. By wading into the ‘Europa v Premier League’ debate and nonchalantly throwing in a remark about shafting Palace just for good measure, I can’t help thinking you’re tempting a similar fate with the Forest fanbase.”
I’ve only been painballing once – it was on the stag of a uni mate who ended up in the police, so his work crew were pinging shots off hands and so on – sore as you like. It turned out the best way to combat this was not let on they’d hit, which of course wet down very well.
My guess, though, is that most Forest fans don’t like this XI, and it was the suits who shafted Palace, not the support.
4 min This has been a fair start from Forest, Lucca unfairly penalised for handball after leaping to impart a touch with the top of his shoulder. He’s been really poor since joining from Napoli on loan, but a decent performance tonight would make him worth whatever he’s cost.
3 min Now it’s Yates with a ball down the line for Ndoye, but his cross picks out the keeper, who claims under nae pressure.
2 min Midtjylland try and press high as Forest move the ball across the back four; they want a quick start and a quick game, but a channel-ball finds Hutchinson down the left and lays back for Bakwa, who leathers a shot from a tightish angle just over the bar.
1 min Away we go!
Midtjylland, meantime, will want to overload Forest in central areas, with the two centre-backs asked to mark three men; I’m also expecting long balls and quick transitions.
Here come our teams…
Where is the game? Midtjylland will probably go man to man all over the pitch, leaving them vulnerable if ever they lose a duel. So Forest will want to be proactive in the tackle but also look to run at their opponents, because as soon as one is beaten, everything opens up.
Otherwise, they’ll hope to double up oin wide areas, getting behind the wing-back and outside centre-backs, while Omari Hutchinson is their wildcard, able to commit defenders and invent situations.
Also playing tonight: Crystal Palace visit Larnaca in the Conference League, 0-0 from the first leg.
Have Spurs found something just in time?
If they can get Tel and Xavi Simons going, that might be enough to save them.
Goodness me, what a combination of words are this headline. Things; the absolute state of.
Forest fans: what team would you have picked tonight?
“I did what I must do,” Vitor Pereira tells TNT, adding that he thinks he’s picked a team good enough to do the job. It’s crucial the club stay in the Premier League and he’s got options on the bench if things aren’t going well. They need to be compact and play with quality when they have the ball.
I feel their pain, but I’m not sure what Caf were meant to do. If stomping off the pitch is in the ambit of permitted responses to a poor decision, the game has big problems.
“World not needing this,” says David Dein, paraphrasing me back to myself. “Perhaps, but it’s still worth remembering that Forest and their owners decided the Europa League was worth shafting Palace for, and now they deprioritise it. I would suggest that what the football world needs is much less of people like that.”
I couldn’t agree more, and not just the football world.
What on earth is going on with Manchester City?
Question: what is the exact thing the Premier League – and wider world of football – does not need?
Answer: this.
Thinking back to when my own team were good, I quite liked it when they went behind or if teams came back, because those games were much more of a buzz than the litany of comfortable wins.
In the studio, Peter Crouch is unchuffed with Forest’s line-up saying as a player, you want to play in all the big games, whereas Reid is more understanding. So, tangentially, a question: as a player, is a relegation struggle more enjoyable than mid-table mediocrity because at least there’s some excitement about it?
Midtjylland make two changes to the side which played last week: in come Andreasen and Osorio, with Mbabu dropping out completely and Simsir on the bench.
Andy Reid is a pretty good pundit, but his taste in what I believe are called overshirts leaves something to be desired.
I can’t help but note that McAtee and Lucca were both hooked at half-time when Fenerbahce visited Nottingham; both start tonight. I guess it’s possible Forest use the first half to stay in the game, then send on their better players to try and steal a result, but given they went close to full-strength in the home leg, it feels like the 1-0 defeat has persuaded them to abandon their hopes of winning this competition.
So, Mats Sels, Ola Aina, Neco Williams, Murillo, Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson, and Igor Jesus are all left on the bench with Spurs on Sunday in mind; Stefan Ortega, Morato, Dan Ndoye, Lorenzo Lucca, Omari Hutchinson, Ryan Yates, James McAtee, Dilane Bakwa and Zach Abbott come into the XI. I don’t know, do we not think progress and a good performance would help them at the weekend? Pah, etc.
Er, it appears Vitor Pereira, Evengelos Marinakis or both disagree with me: they want Forest to stay up for the potential glory of a finish between eighth and 17th next season, much, much more than they want the unfathomable joy of bringing a European trophy back to the City Ground. Whatever turns you on, lads.
Teams!
Midtjylland (3-4-1-2): Olafsson; Bech, Erlic, Diao; Jensen, Billing, Bravo, Castillo; Bak, Byskov, Castillo; Andreasen; Osorio, Brumado. Subs: Lossl, Ugboh, Lee, Gabriel, Ze, Cho, Gogorza, Chilufya, Uhre, Emefile, Simsir.
Nottingham Forest (4-4-1-1): Ortega; Dominguez, Abbott, Milenkovic, Morato; Ndoye, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa; Hutchinson, Lucca. Subs: Sels, Willows, Williams, Murillo, Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus, Aina, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks.
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)
Preamble
Fourth-bottom of the Premier League and clear of the relegation zone on goal difference only, with a Sunday match against the side a point and a place ahead to come; a midweek schlep to Denmark is surely the last thing Nottingham Forest need.
Yeah, [redacted] that. A midweek schlep to Denmark is exactly what Nottingham Forest need, a chance for the players to make themselves immortal and for younger fans raised on tales of triumphs past to enjoy an eternal moment that is truly theirs. In simple terms, one Europa League is worth a million relegations.
And make no mistake, Forest are capable of lifting this trophy, despite the deficit they must retrieve this evening. Though they find goals difficult to come by, they are solid at the back and superb in midfield, which makes them a nasty proposition in any cup competition and, in Midtjylland, they face opponents who are competent but not devastating, their one-goal advantage not close to definitive. Or, put another way, for the Forest players and fans, this is the opportunity of a lifetime.
Kick-off: 6.45pm local, 5.45pm GMT
