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Nottingham Forest continue their preparations for the new Premier League season with a friendly against Bayer Leverkusen at the City Ground on Wednesday night.
This will be the Tricky Trees' eighth friendly before facing Brest and then Leeds United at home on the top flight's opening weekend.
Meanwhile, Leverkusen have played five friendlies themselves, and will also face Newcastle United before opening their campaign against Wehen in the DFB Pokal.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Nottingham Forest vs. Bayer Leverkusen key stats
- Forest are on a three-game losing run.
- Leverkusen have won all five pre-season friendlies.
- Forest lost five European matches last season (W8, D3).
Nottingham Forest vs. Bayer Leverkusen preview: Tricky Trees to taste defeat again?
Forest vs Leverkusen — Tale of the Tape
| Forest | vs | Leverkusen |
|---|---|---|
| 16th (Premier League) | Position | 6th (Bundesliga) |
| 44 | Points | 59 |
| 48 | Goals For | 68 |
| 51 | Goals Against | 47 |
| 9 | Clean Sheets | 8 |
| 17th | Home / Away Rank | 4th |
There is never a dull day at Forest as owner Evangelos Marinakis has recently sued Tricky Trees manager Oliver Glasner's former club Crystal Palace over a defamatory banner displayed by their fans.
On the pitch, after a bright start with three wins and a draw in pre-season, Forest come into this clash off the back of three straight defeats.
Xaver Schlager and Gustavo Sa are the only incomings in the window so far, while there have been a number of departures including Elliot Anderson to Manchester City for £116m.
Forest are expected to name a strong team with their opening Premier League game just over a week away, as Glasner aims to get off to the best possible start at his new club.
Carles Martinez is the man in charge for Leverkusen, with the days of Xabi Alonso, now manager of Chelsea, long gone.
The visitors finished sixth in the Bundesliga last season, a far cry from winning the title under the Spaniard.
It means Leverkusen will be playing Europa League football this campaign, like Forest did in 2025/26.
Having not qualified for the Champions League, big names like Piero Hincapie, Kerim Alajbegovic and Alejandro Grimaldo have left permanently, while Kennet Eichhorn, Eliesse Ben Seghir, Nathan Tella and Montrell Culbreath are all out injured.
Nottingham Forest vs. Bayer Leverkusen form guide & betting tips
| Forest | vs | Leverkusen |
|---|---|---|
DWLLL |
Form | WWWWW |
| 4 | Goals For | 19 |
| 8 | Goals Against | 2 |
LLL |
Friendlies | WWW |
Whispers predicts: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
Leverkusen are favourites with bookies, and given their superior form in pre-season, we are backing Leverkusen to win at 11/10 (2.10).
However, with Forest having home advantage, we are also backing them to cause the visitors problems, and so BTTS – Yes at 4/7 (1.57) is our second pick.
We are expecting a close match with Leverkusen just edging it, so Correct score – 1-2 at 8/1 (9.00) is our final punt.
> BTTS – Yes at 4/7 (1.57) | Likelihood: Probable
> Leverkusen to win at 11/10 (2.10) | Likelihood: Possible
> Correct score – 1-2 at 8/1 (9.00) | Likelihood: Outsider