Awoniyi vs Adeyemi: Preview, team news, H2H and prediction for Nottingham Forest vs Barcelona

Nottingham Forest and Barcelona meet for the first time in over four decades on Saturday, August 8, 2026, when the two clubs face off at the Bluenergy Stadium in Udine, Afrik-Foot reports.

The fixture carries an unmistakable Nigerian thread, with Super Eagles forward Taiwo Awoniyi expected to lead the Forest attack against a Barcelona side that now includes Karim Adeyemi, the club’s marquee summer signing from Borussia Dortmund whose father, Abbey Adeyemi, hails from Ibadan.

Both squads arrive heavily depleted by the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Barcelona missing the core of Spain’s triumphant squad and Forest still managing three long-term absentees from the end of last season, so this will look and feel very different from a typical meeting between a Premier League club and the reigning La Liga champions.

Nottingham Forest vs Barcelona: Match Preview

Nottingham Forest survived a chaotic 2025/26 season to finish 16th in the Premier League, a campaign that also brought an unlikely run to the Europa League semi-finals before Aston Villa, who went on to win the trophy, ended the adventure.

Off the pitch, the season was defined by managerial upheaval, with Nuno Espírito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vítor Pereira all occupying the dugout at various points, making Oliver Glasner Forest’s fifth head coach in 12 months after his appointment following his departure from Crystal Palace.

Glasner arrives having won the FA Cup, the Community Shield and the UEFA Conference League during two and a half seasons at Crystal Palace, and having previously guided Eintracht Frankfurt to the 2021/22 Europa League title.

He has already stamped his preferred three-at-the-back system on the group, with Forest lining up in a 3-4-3 shape during their friendly win over Blackburn Rovers, and that structure looks set to continue against Barcelona.

Pre-season has been productive for the Reds, who beat Notts County, Blackburn Rovers and Portimonense before their unbeaten run ended against Sporting CP, and Glasner will want a response before the Premier League opener against newly-promoted Leeds United on August 22.

Barcelona’s season, by contrast, ended in silverware, with Hansi Flick’s side beating fierce rivals Real Madrid 2-0 to seal a 29th La Liga title and adding the Spanish Super Cup for good measure.

The picture was not entirely spotless, however, as the Catalans were knocked out of the Copa del Rey at the semi-final stage and exited the Champions League in the quarter-finals, a step back from the historic domestic treble Flick delivered in his first season in charge.

The summer has still been one of statement signings, with Anthony Gordon arriving from Newcastle United and Adeyemi joining from Borussia Dortmund, while long-serving goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen departed on a season-long loan to Ajax.

Flick’s priority now is retaining the league title while pushing further in Europe, and Forest’s aim under Glasner is a calmer, more settled campaign after last season’s turbulence, built around a fit-again Awoniyi.

Head to Head: Nottingham Forest vs Barcelona

There is no reverse fixture to draw on this season because Saturday’s meeting in Udine is the first time Nottingham Forest and Barcelona have played each other since a two-legged tie more than 46 years ago.

That earlier meeting came in the 1979 UEFA Super Cup, contested between the reigning European Cup holders and the Cup Winners’ Cup holders, and it produced one of the finest results in Forest’s history.

Brian Clough’s side won the first leg 1-0 at the City Ground on January 30, 1980, before a Kenny Burns goal cancelled out a Roberto penalty in a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou on February 5, giving Forest the trophy 2-1 on aggregate.

It remains the only occasion the two clubs have met in a competitive fixture, and it came during the golden era in which Forest won back-to-back European Cups under Clough.

Team news: Nottingham Forest injuries, doubts and predicted XI

Nottingham Forest

Forest remain without three regulars who have been sidelined since the closing weeks of last season, and their continued absence is the biggest theme of the club’s pre-season so far.

Centre-back Murillo, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi and full-back Nicolò Savona all missed the defeat to Sporting CP on July 31, having already sat out every fixture of the summer.

Hudson-Odoi underwent surgery on a thigh problem back in April, and while all three players are described as being in the closing stages of their recovery, none has featured for Glasner yet.

Their absence has forced Jair Cunha and Zach Abbott into regular minutes alongside Nikola Milenković in the back three, a makeshift arrangement Glasner has had little choice but to trust.

There is better news in attack, where Awoniyi has looked sharp and fully recovered from the serious abdominal injury that disrupted his previous campaign, scoring in the 3-0 win over Blackburn Rovers and captaining the side for the second half of that match.

Ola Aina, the Super Eagles right-back, has also returned in good order and looks set to continue in the right wing-back role he filled against Blackburn.

Morgan Gibbs-White, Forest’s top scorer last season with 15 league goals, is expected to keep his place just behind the front line once again.

Predicted XI

Barcelona

Barcelona travel to Udine without the backbone of the squad that helped Spain win the World Cup, with Lamine Yamal, Pedri, Gavi, Pau Cubarsí, Dani Olmo, Ferran Torres, Eric García and goalkeeper Joan García all still on an extended post-tournament break.

Gordon has also been given extra time to recover after helping England reach the World Cup semi-finals, and he is not expected to feature in Udine either.

Frenkie de Jong is a more serious concern, having suffered a tear of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee at the World Cup, an injury that will keep him out for months and rules him out of Saturday’s match entirely.

Raphinha, who tore a hamstring muscle in Brazil’s World Cup group game against Haiti, has returned to training but is not expected to feature in Udine as his rehabilitation continues.

There is a significant change in goal, too, after Marc-André ter Stegen’s departure to Ajax on loan, which leaves Wojciech Szczęsny, who signed a new contract to 2027 after his own strong season, as the senior option in Udine.

Adeyemi made his first appearance for the club during the pre-season trip to England and looks likely to start again on the right of the front line, while young forwards Hamza Abdelkarim and Ebrima Tunkara have both been given regular minutes.

Fermín López, who missed the World Cup after fracturing the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, is another who could feature after building up his fitness through the summer.

Predicted XI

Star player watch: Taiwo Awoniyi vs Karim Adeyemi

With so many senior players missing on both sides, this fixture puts the spotlight on two forwards with Nigerian roots, even though only one of them represents the Super Eagles of Nigeria.

Awoniyi is building fitness for the new campaign after the previous two were riddled with injuries for him, while Adeyemi arrives with an eye-catching Bundesliga return from last season and a head start of sorts, since Flick handed him his senior Germany debut during his time at Red Bull Salzburg.

Although the 24-year-old chose to represent Germany rather than the Super Eagles, his Nigerian heritage has never been far from his identity, right down to crediting his pace to fufu.

The Managers: Oliver Glasner and Hansi Flick

Oliver Glasner took charge at the City Ground last month, arriving with a reputation few of his predecessors could match.

Before his time in England, the Austrian guided Eintracht Frankfurt to the Europa League title and took VfL Wolfsburg into Champions League contention, and his preference for an attacking back three has already been visible during Forest’s pre-season games.

Hansi Flick has been in charge at Barcelona since May 2024 and delivered a domestic treble in his first season, adding a second successive La Liga title and the Spanish Super Cup last season despite a Copa del Rey semi-final exit.

The German has built his side around intense pressing and rapid transitions, and Saturday’s friendly gives him another chance to work fringe players such as Adeyemi and the club’s young forwards into that structure before the pressure of the new season begins.

Nottingham Forest vs Barcelona tactical preview

Glasner’s 3-4-3 relies heavily on Aina and Neco Williams pushing high from wing-back, and their willingness to advance could leave space behind them for Barcelona’s front three to exploit on the counter.

Domínguez and Yates will be tasked with screening that space centrally, and their discipline in front of a makeshift back three will shape most of the contest.

Barcelona’s likely 4-2-3-1 gives Bernal and Casadó license to dictate tempo, and with Fermín López operating between the lines, Forest’s back three could be pulled out of position if Milenković, Cunha and Abbott are not disciplined in their positioning.

Awoniyi’s movement in behind will be Forest’s clearest route to goal, particularly if Martin or Christensen are caught upfield during Barcelona’s build-up play.

With so many fringe and academy players involved on both sides, individual quality and match sharpness, rather than tactical rigidity, are likely to decide the game in the closing stages.

Nottingham Forest vs Barcelona prediction and betting tips

Neither side has looked settled defensively this pre-season, which points towards goals at both ends rather than a cagey, low-scoring friendly.

Nottingham Forest vs Barcelona final score prediction