- Joined
- Jul 14, 2025
Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United
England, EFL Cup Second Round, City Ground, 21:00 CEST
The City Ground gets the strangest fixture of the week on Tuesday night, because Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United is an instant rematch of a game these two played at this exact ground 72 hours earlier. On Saturday Leeds United won 1-0 in the Premier League through Anton Stach's 88th minute free kick, their first win at the City Ground since 1972, in a match Nottingham Forest largely controlled without finishing it, hitting the post through Nikola Milenkovic and wasting two Igor Jesus headers. Now the same two squads go again in the EFL Cup second round with a place in the third round on the line, and this is the only fixture in world football on Tuesday showing on UK free-to-air television, live on ITV1 and STV alongside a Sky Sports simulcast. Oliver Glasner is in his first season as Nottingham Forest head coach after Vitor Pereira left in July following 137 days in charge, and Oliver Glasner is without captain Ryan Yates and Nicolo Savona with a knee problem, which thins out a midfield that already looked short of a finisher on Saturday. Daniel Farke's Leeds United have spent north of 74 million pounds this summer including a club record fee for goalkeeper James Trafford, and Leeds United arrive with the confidence of a side that has just won at a venue where they had lost for 54 years. The obvious caveat for both is rotation, because this is a second round cup tie three days after a Premier League opener and four days before the next league game, so Oliver Glasner and Daniel Farke will both change six or seven names and hand minutes to squad players and academy graduates. There is no extra time at this stage of the EFL Cup either, so a level score after 90 minutes goes directly to a penalty shootout, which matters a lot for how both managers will approach the closing twenty minutes at the City Ground.
BetBrain Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United betting insights:
Under 3.5 Goals The structural read is that this stays a low-volume game, because everything about it points that way. These two produced exactly one goal between them at the City Ground on Saturday, and that came from a set piece in the 88th minute, so neither attack has shown it can open the other up in open play. Both Oliver Glasner and Daniel Farke will make wholesale changes, which in practice means less rehearsed attacking patterns and more caution, and second round EFL Cup ties between evenly matched sides are historically tight rather than loose. Nottingham Forest are also missing Ryan Yates and Nicolo Savona from the spine of the team, so Oliver Glasner has even more reason to keep it controlled and take his chances late.
Over 21.5 Match Fouls The fouls market is where the emotional temperature of this tie shows up. Playing the same opponent twice in four days at the same ground breeds friction, and Nottingham Forest have a genuine grievance after dominating Saturday and losing to a late free kick, which is exactly the kind of result that turns the rematch scrappy. Rotated legs also foul more, because second-choice midfielders who have not played together tend to arrive late in the tackle and stop counters with their hands rather than their positioning. Add a Daniel Farke side that presses aggressively in midfield and a City Ground crowd that will be loud from the first whistle, and the referee is going to be busy long before he reaches for cards.
Match To Go To A Penalty Shootout The value angle exploits a rule that the market often underprices, because the EFL Cup has no extra time before the final and a draw after 90 minutes goes straight to spot kicks. The evidence that these two cannot separate themselves is right there in Saturday's 1-0, decided by a single dead ball moment in a game with almost nothing between the sides. Both managers are rotating, both squads are close in quality, and neither will want to gamble bodies chasing a winner four days before their next league fixture, which is the exact recipe for a stalemate. At better than 3.00 for a shootout in a tie this evenly matched at the City Ground, this is comfortably the standout price on the EFL Cup card.
Top Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United betting tips from BetBrain experts
Under 3.5 Goals - at 1.40
Over 21.5 Match Fouls - at 1.85
Match To Go To A Penalty Shootout - at 3.50
The likeliest story at the City Ground is a bad-tempered, low-quality rematch where two rotated sides cancel each other out, trade one goal each and neither manager risks anything in the last twenty minutes before penalties settle it. A 1-1 finish that goes to a shootout lines all three picks up cleanly, staying under 3.5 goals, delivering the foul count from a niggly rematch and landing the penalties price outright. Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United three days after Anton Stach's 88th minute free kick is the most loaded EFL Cup second round tie there is, and free-to-air coverage means the whole country is watching it.
England, EFL Cup Second Round, City Ground, 21:00 CEST
The City Ground gets the strangest fixture of the week on Tuesday night, because Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United is an instant rematch of a game these two played at this exact ground 72 hours earlier. On Saturday Leeds United won 1-0 in the Premier League through Anton Stach's 88th minute free kick, their first win at the City Ground since 1972, in a match Nottingham Forest largely controlled without finishing it, hitting the post through Nikola Milenkovic and wasting two Igor Jesus headers. Now the same two squads go again in the EFL Cup second round with a place in the third round on the line, and this is the only fixture in world football on Tuesday showing on UK free-to-air television, live on ITV1 and STV alongside a Sky Sports simulcast. Oliver Glasner is in his first season as Nottingham Forest head coach after Vitor Pereira left in July following 137 days in charge, and Oliver Glasner is without captain Ryan Yates and Nicolo Savona with a knee problem, which thins out a midfield that already looked short of a finisher on Saturday. Daniel Farke's Leeds United have spent north of 74 million pounds this summer including a club record fee for goalkeeper James Trafford, and Leeds United arrive with the confidence of a side that has just won at a venue where they had lost for 54 years. The obvious caveat for both is rotation, because this is a second round cup tie three days after a Premier League opener and four days before the next league game, so Oliver Glasner and Daniel Farke will both change six or seven names and hand minutes to squad players and academy graduates. There is no extra time at this stage of the EFL Cup either, so a level score after 90 minutes goes directly to a penalty shootout, which matters a lot for how both managers will approach the closing twenty minutes at the City Ground.
BetBrain Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United betting insights: Under 3.5 Goals The structural read is that this stays a low-volume game, because everything about it points that way. These two produced exactly one goal between them at the City Ground on Saturday, and that came from a set piece in the 88th minute, so neither attack has shown it can open the other up in open play. Both Oliver Glasner and Daniel Farke will make wholesale changes, which in practice means less rehearsed attacking patterns and more caution, and second round EFL Cup ties between evenly matched sides are historically tight rather than loose. Nottingham Forest are also missing Ryan Yates and Nicolo Savona from the spine of the team, so Oliver Glasner has even more reason to keep it controlled and take his chances late. Over 21.5 Match Fouls The fouls market is where the emotional temperature of this tie shows up. Playing the same opponent twice in four days at the same ground breeds friction, and Nottingham Forest have a genuine grievance after dominating Saturday and losing to a late free kick, which is exactly the kind of result that turns the rematch scrappy. Rotated legs also foul more, because second-choice midfielders who have not played together tend to arrive late in the tackle and stop counters with their hands rather than their positioning. Add a Daniel Farke side that presses aggressively in midfield and a City Ground crowd that will be loud from the first whistle, and the referee is going to be busy long before he reaches for cards. Match To Go To A Penalty Shootout The value angle exploits a rule that the market often underprices, because the EFL Cup has no extra time before the final and a draw after 90 minutes goes straight to spot kicks. The evidence that these two cannot separate themselves is right there in Saturday's 1-0, decided by a single dead ball moment in a game with almost nothing between the sides. Both managers are rotating, both squads are close in quality, and neither will want to gamble bodies chasing a winner four days before their next league fixture, which is the exact recipe for a stalemate. At better than 3.00 for a shootout in a tie this evenly matched at the City Ground, this is comfortably the standout price on the EFL Cup card. Top Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United betting tips from BetBrain expertsUnder 3.5 Goals - at 1.40
Over 21.5 Match Fouls - at 1.85
Match To Go To A Penalty Shootout - at 3.50
The likeliest story at the City Ground is a bad-tempered, low-quality rematch where two rotated sides cancel each other out, trade one goal each and neither manager risks anything in the last twenty minutes before penalties settle it. A 1-1 finish that goes to a shootout lines all three picks up cleanly, staying under 3.5 goals, delivering the foul count from a niggly rematch and landing the penalties price outright. Nottingham Forest vs Leeds United three days after Anton Stach's 88th minute free kick is the most loaded EFL Cup second round tie there is, and free-to-air coverage means the whole country is watching it.