Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland friendly team news and live stream | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest continue their pre-season preparations with a friendly against Championship side Sunderland in Spain on Friday at 6pm.

Forest finished 17th in the Premier League last season, but still ended six points clear of the relegation zone despite suffering a four-point deduction. Nuno Espirito Santo will now hope he can push on with the club and lift them away from any further trouble in the upcoming campaign — he made a good start toward that goal with a 3-0 win over Chesterfield in Forest’s first summer friendly.

As for Sunderland, they started last season right among the promotion contenders but managerial turmoil and a second-half slump saw them slide all the way down to 16th. Given supporter expectations, a huge improvement is a non-negotiable under new boss Regis Le Bris.

Nuno Espirito Santo looking to build on ‘foundations’ at Nottingham Forest

Even though Forest never really looked like getting relegated in the end — such was the poor standard set by the three promoted teams, who all went straight back down — supporters will demand improvement in 2024/25.

The club’s poor financial position has been widely reported in recent times and even resulted in them suffering a points deduction last season. However, Forest have so far managed to keep the bulk of their squad together this summer, only cashing in on Moussa Niakhate and Orel Mangala, while also adding Elliot Anderson from Newcastle.

“The squad is not complete yet, we still have to make decisions. More importantly, we were able to keep our players,” Espirito Santo told BBC Radio Nottingham after Forest’s 3-0 win over Chesterfield.

“So I’m really really happy for that, that we as a club are keeping our most important players because I believe if, after the work of last season, this is what’s going to give us the improvement through this season.”

It’s always nice to win your first pre-season match but a comfortable victory over a League Two team isn’t the sort of thing to get fans dreaming about the 2024/25 season. Even for Espirito Santo, it was more of a fitness exercise and a way to integrate new faces, although the Portuguese tactician is confident a ‘good foundation’ was set last season.

“I think we were solid, but more than anything, any aspect was to integrate the new players and to give minutes to everybody,” he added. “I think we have a good foundation from last season. We have to continue to improve a lot of aspects and we know how many aspects we have to improve.”

Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland latest team news

As mentioned, Forest have added Anderson to their squad this summer, alongside Brazilian goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, talented German winger Eric da Silva Moreira and Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic, who in the past has been favourably compared to compatriot and Premier League legend Nemanja Vidic.

“It is magnificent to be compared to the likes of Vidic, but I have to stay humble with both feet firmly on the ground. Vidic was one hell of a player, while I am in the fledgling stage of my career and, hence, I have to keep working hard in order to climb that mountain,” he said earlier in his career.

“I would like to have his (Vidic’s) ability to put his opponent in difficulty, any opponent in the world.”

The club have also cashed in on Niakhate and Mangala while saying goodbye to Swiss midfielder Remo Frueler, who has joined Bologna. Greek goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos has moved to Newcastle, while Felipe has retired.

Sunderland, meanwhile, have seen a few players come and go on free transfers, but their main concern this summer is keeping talented English players at the club like Anthony Patterson, Jack Clarke and Jobe Bellingham.

How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland live

Nottingham Forest vs Sunderland is being played at the Pinatar Arena Football Center near Murcia, Spain. The match kicks off on Friday, 19th July, at 6pm (UK time) and will be streamed live in the UK on Forest TV.