Nottingham Forest vs Brest: Awoniyi set for PL warm-up — Preview, team news, tips & H2H

Nottingham Forest wrap up their City Ground pre-season preparations on Sunday, August 16, 2026, Afrik-Foot reports.

Oliver Glasner takes charge of his second home fixture since replacing Vitor Pereira in July, an eight-game summer run-out overall, as he continues shaping a Forest squad that will open the Premier League season away at Leeds United six days later.

For Brest, this is the final away test before Ligue 1 gets underway, and it doubles as a landmark early fixture for Julien Lachuer, who was promoted from within the coaching staff to succeed the late Eric Roy.

Taiwo Awoniyi, the Super Eagles forward, is expected to lead the home attack, and Nigerian fans following the Tricky Trees will want to see how he links up with a reshaped forward line under Forest’s new head coach.

Nottingham Forest vs Brest Match Preview

Forest’s 2025-26 campaign was a journey through ebbs and flows. Four different head coaches, Nuno Espírito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and Vitor Pereira, took charge across the season. Yet, the same group reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League.

Glasner, appointed in July after guiding Crystal Palace to an FA Cup, a Community Shield and a UEFA Europa Conference League title, now has the job of aligning those two versions of Forest.

His side have been unconvincing in front of goal during pre-season, losing to Sporting Lisbon, Udinese and Barcelona, though a resounding win over Blackburn Rovers and a battling 2-1 victory over Bayer Leverkusen, secured through goals from Dan Ndoye and Arnaud Kalimuendo-Muinga, offered signs of progress in his first home game in charge.

Ousmane Diomande’s big-money arrival from Sporting Lisbon and Xaver Schlager’s free transfer from RB Leipzig have already reshaped the spine of the squad, while Matz Sels signed a new contract before the window opened and Danilo left for Botafogo.

Forest supporters will be desperate to see the new pieces fit together before the visit of Leeds United starts the real business on August 22.

Matz Sels has agreed a one-year contract extension at Nottingham Forest. It keeps him at the club until summer 2028.🧤 pic.twitter.com/zAcVgcysxW

— Ben Jacobs (@JacobsBen) July 2, 2026

Brest’s story since their historic third-placed Ligue 1 finish in 2023-24 and maiden UEFA Champions League campaign has been one of gradual normalisation.

The club’s summer, however, has been defined by tragedy rather than transfers.

Eric Roy, the head coach who rescued Brest from a relegation fight in 2023 and turned them into Champions League qualifiers, passed away on June 17, 2026, aged 58, after privately battling pancreatic cancer for three and a half years.

Julien Lachuer, a former Brest goalkeeper who had served as Roy’s assistant, was appointed as his successor and used his first press conference to speak about wanting to protect the collective spirit Roy built rather than reinvent it.

Brest have gone winless through their five pre-season friendlies to date, drawing with Angers, Concarneau and Guingamp, losing to Al-Wakrah and drawing again with Venezia last time out.

Head-to-Head record: Nottingham Forest vs Brest

There is no historical head-to-head between Nottingham Forest and Brest to draw on, since Sunday’s meeting is the first fixture ever played between the two clubs.

Our final pre-season test. 💪

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) August 14, 2026

Team News & Predicted lineups: Nottingham Forest vs Brest

Forest will again be without several key names. Chris Wood is a doubt with a thigh injury, Ola Aina is nursing a knock, Callum Hudson-Odoi has a muscle problem and Nicolo Savona, the young Italian full-back, is managing a knee issue, leaving Glasner light at right wing-back.

Diomande could make his home bow at centre-back alongside Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, while Awoniyi, the Super Eagles forward, is expected to lead the line in Wood’s absence.

Brest have no fresh injury concerns. Both head coaches are still six days from their opening league fixtures, so further rotation should not be ruled out.

Star player watch: Gibbs-White vs Del Castillo

The Managers: Oliver Glasner vs Julien Lachuer

Oliver Glasner arrives with a huge reputation and a bigger shoulder pad than his predecessors at the City Ground. The Austrian’s two and a half years at Crystal Palace produced an FA Cup, a Community Shield and a UEFA Europa Conference League title, and he was strongly courted by several clubs before choosing Nottingham.

His preference for a back three, usually a 3-4-2-1, is expected to define how Forest set up this season, and Sunday’s game against Brest offers another chance to embed that structure with new arrivals such as Diomande and Schlager involved.

Julien Lachuer’s situation is entirely different. The 49-year-old former Brest goalkeeper was asked to step up following the death of Eric Roy, and Sunday’s match remains an early opportunity for him to stamp an identity on the squad in his first season as a senior head coach.

Lachuer has spoken about wanting continuity with Roy’s collective, hard-working approach rather than a wholesale reinvention, and early results suggest that transition is still a work in progress.

Tactical preview: Nottingham Forest vs Brest

Glasner’s back three should give Forest control in wide areas, with Neco Williams and Omar Richards pushing on from wing-back to stretch a Brest side that is often in a flat four at the back.

That approach could be particularly effective down Brest’s right, where Kenny Lala will be asked to defend one-on-one against a wing-back and cover space behind.

Brest, in turn, will look to use Del Castillo’s movement between the lines to drag Forest’s midfield out of position, creating space for Ludovic Ajorque to occupy Forest’s back three and for Kamory Doumbia to run beyond him.

With Diomande potentially making his home debut at centre-back and Forest’s makeshift right wing-back options tested by the Aina and Savona injuries, Brest’s front four have a route into the game if their attacking players show the right timing in transition.

Nottingham Forest vs Brest betting tips and predictions

Score prediction – Nottingham Forest vs Brest

Expect goals at both ends, an early look at Glasner’s evolving system, and a first glimpse of how Awoniyi and Diomande settle into life under the new head coach before the serious business of the Premier League season begins.