Forest vs Blackburn Prediction: Betting Tips & Odds

Nottingham Forest face Blackburn Rovers at the Estadio da Nora in Albufeira on Wednesday night New Zealand time. Oliver Glasner takes charge of a Forest match for the first time since his appointment on July 6, two weeks after Vitor Pereira was unexpectedly sacked.

In this Nottingham Forest vs Blackburn Rovers preview, I look at what both camps are working with heading into 2026-27. I’ve also got a goals-market pick around $1.70 for those tracking football betting sites this pre-season.

Nottingham Forest

Glasner is Forest’s fifth permanent manager in 10 months. Nuno, Postecoglou, Dyche, Pereira - all gone within the space of a season. Pereira guided them to the Europa League semi-finals and was then dismissed via email at 11:58pm on June 30 - two minutes before a break clause expired at midnight. I’m curious to see what Glasner does with a squad that finished 16th yet got to a European semi.

His CV is strong. Europa League at Eintracht Frankfurt, then the FA Cup at Crystal Palace before adding the Community Shield and Conference League last season. He was AC Milan’s frontrunner for weeks before choosing Forest, which says a lot about how he views the project.

Morgan Gibbs-White was outstanding last season - 15 league goals, 18 in all competitions - but Tottenham are reportedly keen and his future is uncertain. Elliot Anderson’s £116m departure to Manchester City has left a gap in midfield. Xaver Schlager is expected to fill it, though his signing isn’t confirmed yet.

Igor Jesus scored in the 2-0 win over Notts County on Friday. I’d expect him to feature alongside Chris Wood here, with Glasner wanting a close look at Murillo and Ola Aina before the camp intensifies.

Team News: World Cup returnees are unlikely to be involved. Anderson has departed. Schlager is expected to sign but hasn’t been confirmed.

Predicted Lineup: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Dominguez; Gibbs-White, Hutchinson; Igor Jesus, Wood.

Blackburn Rovers

Tony Mowbray coming back for a second spell at Ewood Park makes sense. He got Blackburn promoted from League One in 2018 and turned them into a solid Championship outfit before leaving in 2022. After a grim 2025-26 - three managers, 20th-place finish, five points above relegation - the club needed stability.

I can see the appeal from Mowbray’s side too. But there’s work to do. 

Yuki Ohashi led their scoring with 10 last season, which gives you a sense of where Blackburn’s problems were. Sondre Tronstad and Ryan Hedges have departed on frees, with Nathan Redmond also released. Daniel Jebbison is expected in on loan from Bournemouth, and Moussa Baradji’s loan has been made permanent, but Mowbray will largely be working with the existing group.

Blackburn drew 0-0 with Accrington Stanley in their pre-season opener. I don’t expect Mowbray to prioritise a result here - he’ll rotate extensively and use the 90 minutes to assess his options ahead of another Championship campaign where survival is the baseline.

Team News: No significant injuries reported. Mowbray is using the Portugal trip to evaluate his squad.

Predicted Lineup: Pears; Carter, Wharton, Hyam; Garrett, Travis, Baradji; Afolayan, Ohashi, Kargbo; Jorgensen.

• Forest beat Notts County 2-0 in their first pre-season outing on Friday.
• Blackburn drew 0-0 with Accrington Stanley in their opener.
• Forest finished 16th in the Premier League last season with 11 wins from 38 league games.
• Blackburn finished 20th in the Championship, five points above the relegation zone.
• Forest won four of the last five competitive meetings between these clubs, including a 4-1 Carabao Cup win at Ewood Park in December 2022.

I’m tipping Forest to win this comfortably. 

Even with the squad in flux and Glasner still getting his feet under the table, the quality gap between a Premier League side and a team that barely survived in the Championship is significant.

What I’m less sure about is how many goals we’ll see. Pre-season can go either way. But the finishing quality in Forest’s squad is miles above what Blackburn can offer, and I’d be surprised if they don’t put at least a couple away.

I’d focus on the goals markets personally. Forest will want to work on Glasner’s attacking patterns, and that usually means an expansive approach in early pre-season.

Over 2.5 Goals @ $1.70

Pre-season friendlies between teams from different divisions tend to produce goals. Defensive shape is always the last thing to come together at this stage of the summer.

Forest scored twice against Notts County on Friday without most of their World Cup contingent. Once Gibbs-White and Wood are involved alongside Igor Jesus, the attacking output goes up. Blackburn don’t have the defensive personnel to contain that for 90 minutes.

At $1.70, over 2.5 is the play I’m happiest with across the best new betting sites in New Zealand.