Nottingham Forest vs Coventry City – Match preview and team news

Nottingham Forest host Coventry City at the City Ground on Saturday evening in a bottom-half meeting between a Forest side that finally recorded its first Premier League win of the season last time out and a Coventry team yet to register a single point.

Oliver Glasner’s side beat Aston Villa 2-1 last weekend and have taken five points from four games, but they are still searching for a first home league goal of the campaign, having drawn blanks against Leeds United twice and Tottenham Hotspur.

Frank Lampard’s Coventry, meanwhile, remain without a point or a goal after four matches, and a fifth straight defeat would make them the seventh team in Premier League history to lose each of their opening five fixtures — a fate that led to relegation for four of the previous six. Coventry have lost four of their last five meetings with Forest, their most recent defeat coming 2-0 in the Championship in April 2022, which remains the sides’ last encounter.

Nottingham Forest vs Coventry City – Match preview and team news

* Date: Saturday, 19 September 2026

* Kick-off: 17:30 BST

* Venue: The City Ground

* Referee: Jarred Gillett

* Last meeting: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Coventry City (Championship, 6 April 2022, The City Ground)

Team news

Nottingham Forest

Nicolo Savona (knee) remains out, and both Nikola Milenkovic and Jair Cunha reported hamstring tightness before the Villa win, with only Cunha likely to return to contention. Igor Jesus scored in 13 minutes off the bench last weekend and looks set to start alongside Liam Delap and Morgan Gibbs-White, a change that could see Glasner shift to a 3-4-1-2 shape.

Coventry City

Aurele Amenda was substituted after 12 minutes of the midweek EFL Cup defeat to Aston Villa with a calf injury that will almost certainly rule him out. Haji Wright (thigh), Kaine Kesler-Hayden (thigh), Josh Eccles (calf) and Luke Woolfenden (knee) are also unavailable, and Taiwo Awoniyi is suspended. Stephen Mfuni is set to come into the back three in Amenda’s place, with Ellis Simms in line to replace Sidiki Cherif up front.

Form

Nottingham Forest

Forest have lost once and drawn twice in the Premier League this season, taking their first win of the campaign against Aston Villa last weekend. They are unbeaten against teams not managed by Daniel Farke so far this term.

Coventry City

Coventry have lost all four of their Premier League matches without scoring a goal, most recently suffering a 5-0 defeat to Brighton & Hove Albion. They were also eliminated from the EFL Cup in midweek, losing 3-1 to Aston Villa despite scoring their first goal against top-flight opposition this season.

Predicted lineups

Nottingham Forest predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Sels; Aina, Diomande, Murillo; Munoz, Schlager, McAtee, Williams; Gibbs-White; Jesus, Delap

Coventry City predicted XI (3-4-2-1): Rushworth; Mfuni, Thomas, Pinnock; Van Ewijk, Grimes, Onyeka, Dasilva; Rudoni, Hamer; Simms

How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Coventry City?

The match will be broadcast live in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports Main Event.