{"id":312542,"date":"2025-08-02T18:15:17","date_gmt":"2025-08-02T18:15:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/312542\/"},"modified":"2025-08-02T18:15:17","modified_gmt":"2025-08-02T18:15:17","slug":"five-things-we-learned-from-nottingham-forests-1-0-defeat-to-birmingham-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/312542\/","title":{"rendered":"Five things we learned from Nottingham Forest’s 1-0 defeat to Birmingham City"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Nottingham Forest returned from their pre-season camp in Portugal to play Birmingham City, in a game that finished 1-0 to the hosts.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It was an exciting week to be a Red as Dan Ndoye joined from Bologna<\/a> for \u00a334m, with Nuno Esp\u00edrito Santo<\/a> immediately throwing the Swiss star into the starting line-up.<\/p>\n

However, there was an immediate concern when the squad was announced, as Ola Aina was absent from the Birmingham game<\/a>, but reports confirming that he\u2019d sustained a minor knock eased the worry.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the result was another disappointing one in pre-season, but there were a number of positive points that the Forest manager<\/a> will have taken from Saturday\u2019s game.<\/p>\n

\"IgorPhoto by Fran Santiago\/Getty ImagesWhat we learned from Birmingham City vs Nottingham ForestIgor Jesus will push Chris Wood for a starting spot<\/p>\n

Having featured alongside Chris Wood in Portugal, Igor Jesus<\/a> was given the nod to start as a lone striker against Birmingham and showed exactly what he can offer as an alternative.<\/p>\n

Jesus has impressed in training<\/a> and he looked to have taken that into the game on Saturday, producing an all-action half of football where his ability to drop in and link up with his teammates stood out in particular.<\/p>\n

Most impressive was his combination with Morgan Gibbs-White<\/a>, with one neat flick leading to a chance for Ndoye to score in the opening period.<\/p>\n

Morgan Gibbs-White must become a goalscoring threat<\/p>\n

Jesus\u2019 combination play must\u2019ve been particularly intriguing for Gibbs-White, with the Brazilian\u2019s abilities surely able to create more goalscoring opportunities for the Englishman.<\/p>\n

However, in the Birmingham game, he didn\u2019t quite look capable of taking these opportunities, something he\u2019ll need to work on for the benefit of Forest, but also for his England career.<\/p>\n

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A statement of intent from our owner Evangelos Marinakis, as Morgan Gibbs-White signs a record deal at the Club until the summer of 2028. \ud83e\udd1d pic.twitter.com\/WhvuhecdhI<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) July 26, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

View Tweet<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old scored seven Premier League goals last season, but if he wants to nail down a spot in Thomas Tuchel\u2019s World Cup squad, he\u2019ll ideally need to up these numbers into double figures and beyond.<\/p>\n

Ibrahim Sangare will be key this season<\/p>\n

Forest made a raft of changes after 70 minutes, but Sangare<\/a> was asked to play the full game against Birmingham, given the continued absence of Nicolas Dominguez.<\/p>\n

\"IbrahimPhoto by Gualter Fatia\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

The full 90 minutes gave Sangare the chance to show his class against a side only six days away from the start of their competitive season, looking a level above the rest of the midfielders.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that Forest are pushing to sign Douglas Luiz<\/a> to provide extra quality to the central area, but the incoming Brazilian will have a difficult task in replacing the Ivorian, who has been one of the standouts in pre-season.<\/p>\n

Full-back remains an area of concern<\/p>\n

It was Morato and Jair Cunha who started the match at full-back for Forest, a clear indication, if one was needed, that the Reds are desperate for reinforcements in defence.<\/p>\n

Predictably, neither provided an attacking threat, and when Eric da Silva Moreira and Omar Richards were brought on as more natural options, they also didn\u2019t stake a claim for a regular position in the squad.<\/p>\n

The Forest manager will, of course, like a settled starting XI, but Aina and Neco Williams simply cannot be expected to play every minute both domestically and in Europe, so back-ups must be found.<\/p>\n

Forest will have to work on winning with possession<\/p>\n

Esp\u00edrito Santo wants Forest to control possession<\/a> more this season, but judging by the evidence of Saturday, this transition away from counter-attacking football will take some getting used to.<\/p>\n

Birmingham were more than happy to allow the Reds to dominate the possession for extended periods, but the Premier League side were unable to truly pick apart their opponents, with Forest\u2019s best chance of the second half coming from a transition.<\/p>\n

For this emphasis on possession to work, Nuno will need the creativity of the likes of Gibbs-White to help move the ball quicker, while Ndoye and Hudson-Odoi on the flanks will have to be clever with their movement to create gaps in the opposition defence.<\/p>\n

The worst-case scenario for Forest would be that teams become comfortable with them having the ball, rather than being concerned about what they could do with it.<\/p>\n