Nottingham Forest vs Tottenham Hotspur Prediction: Glasner’s Structure Faces De Zerbi’s Possession Test

Nottingham Forest host Tottenham Hotspur in a Premier League Matchweek 3 fixture on 5 September 2026 that neither club can treat as a warm-up, with Forest sitting 15th on a single point and Spurs propping up the table with no points and no goals after two rounds. The real interest is the tactical collision between two new managers with genuinely different ideas about how football should be played.

Oliver Glasner took charge at the City Ground on 6 July 2026, replacing Vitor Pereira and has built his side around a 3 4 2 1 with structured build-up from a back three. Roberto De Zerbi has been at Spurs since 31 March 2026, when he replaced Igor Tudor and his 4 2 3 1 asks central midfielders to receive under pressure and play forward through lines rather than recycle sideways. The two haven't met before as managers, so whatever happens here will tell us something real about how these systems cope when tested early.

Forest's only result so far was a 2-2 draw with Liverpool in late August, scoring twice but shipping two goals to a side that pressed them high throughout. Spurs have lost both their opening games, including a 0-2 defeat to Newcastle and haven't scored once, an alarming record for a club with De Zerbi's ambitions. A Forest side that can at least put the ball in the net at home meets a Spurs team still waiting for its first goal of the campaign.

Glasner is without Nicolo Savona (knee) and Ibrahim Sangaré (calf), with Sangaré's absence particularly costly given his role winning the ball and driving play out from deep. De Zerbi's situation is considerably worse: Wilson Odobert won't be back until around November, Xavi Simons is out until early February, Dejan Kulusevski is unavailable through a knee and fitness issue and both Sávio and James Maddison are doubtful. Strip out that many creative players and you're left asking De Zerbi to build patiently without the players his system most depends on.

Forest's 3 4 2 1 gives them a compact block with wing backs tasked with pushing Spurs' full backs into retreat, freeing Morgan Gibbs-White to receive in the half space and play forward. Gibbs-White receiving on the half turn and threading balls into Dan Ndoye's runs is the move Forest will keep returning to and Ndoye, whose movement in behind should stretch Spurs' high line, will benefit from the extra central presence Glasner's system generates.

Spurs want to dominate possession and build methodically but without Odobert, Simons and Kulusevski, De Zerbi is missing the players most capable of making that approach work. Mateus Fernandes will need to link midfield and attack by finding pockets against Forest's disciplined double pivot, while Mathys Tel and Omar Marmoush are asked to run in behind and drag Forest's defence wide. The problem is that none of them are natural creators in tight spaces, which could force a more direct approach that doesn't really suit De Zerbi's preferred tempo.

The central battle between Forest's organised midfield and Spurs' possession oriented double pivot will likely settle the game's rhythm. If Forest's double pivot wins the ball and feeds Gibbs-White before Spurs reset, Ndoye can run in behind a Spurs back four potentially pushed high to compensate for a lack of midfield creativity, whereas if Spurs retain possession long enough to pull Forest's wing backs narrow, Fernandes may find room centrally to pick passes and set the tempo. Forest's double pivot has the personnel advantage here, which is why the rhythm battle probably goes their way.

Spurs have the historical edge in this fixture, though the last ten meetings have produced no draws at all, suggesting this tends to be a game that finds a winner. Set pieces may prove decisive and Forest look better equipped to make them count, with their aerial organisation in defence likely to cope comfortably with Spurs' limited options in the box while their own attacking dead balls could target areas where Spurs' makeshift side looks shaky. Glasner built a cup winning culture at Crystal Palace and that habit tends to travel with him.

This has the shape of a controlled, low scoring game rather than an open one. Forest's home organisation and the threat posed by Gibbs-White and Ndoye put them in a position to score first, whereas Spurs, missing too many players to sustain meaningful pressure, may find themselves without the creative players needed to break down a low Forest block once behind. A Forest win by one goal is where this points.

Predicted score: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur. Forest probably strike first through a set piece or Ndoye's movement in behind, Spurs pull level and the decisive goal comes late as Forest counter into the space created by Spurs pushing men forward. It would give Glasner his first league win and leave De Zerbi without a point or a goal after three matches.