Nottingham Forest

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Vitor Pereira says Nottingham Forest have been "mentally consistent" and the trait is proving key in them developing an unbeaten run.

The Reds are six games without a loss in all competitions, culminating in Thursday's fine win over Porto to reach the last four of the Europa League.

Sunday, however, brings the visit of Burnley - a crucial fixture which could haul Forest further away from the bottom three.

They currently sit three points clear and, asked if this is a "must-win" game by BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray, Pereira said: "This is not about words, speeches. It's about going there to fight, play, have confidence and have the energy of our supporters. To play together against Burnley.

"Six games without losing means we are consistent. I am not talking tactically, as tactically we are changing a lot - players, the system - we need to change. But, in the end, we are in this moment consistent mentally. This is the most important, to be mentally consistent, to compete and compete again until the last game."

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Burnley have one win in 12 in all competitions and have no realistic margin for error if they are to pull themselves back from the relegation brink given their 12-point gap to safety.

Pereira expects some fitness challenges for the fixture given Thursday's night's intense encounter with Porto but he insists the significance of the victory plays a role.

"I believe that the recovery is easier when we win," he explained. "The motivation is different, the spirit is different. I will see happy players and it's easier to recover and prepare.

"The next game will be very important for us. We need to face it with the same spirit - working hard, trying to play in our way. We know it will be tough and we will face a team that has quality."

You can listen to Forest v Burnley here on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

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Join David Jackson, Brian Laws, joyous Forest fans and manager Vitor Pereira on a special episode of Shut Up And Show More Football as Nottingham Forest reach the Europa League semi-finals with victory over Porto.

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Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Championship game on a Saturday, Champions League match on a Tuesday?

While Nottingham Forest bask in the glory of Thursday's victory over Porto in the Europa League quarter-finals, their position in the Premier League means their short and medium-term future remains somewhat complicated.

Forest's battling 1-0 win to secure a 2-1 victory on aggregate means they will play Aston Villa in their first European semi-final for 42 years.

The winners of that all-English tie will head to Istanbul for the final on 20 May - against either Freiburg or Braga - as favourites.

And victory in Turkey will not only earn silverware but a spot in next season's Champions League.

Before that, however, Forest face crucial league fixtures against Burnley and Sunderland. If results in those games and elsewhere go against them, they could be in the relegation zone by the time that last-four tie with Villa arrives.

Winning the Europa League was a target for Forest at the start of the season, having spent about £180m on new players.

Owner Evangelos Marinakis was looking to build on last season's seventh-place finish, when Forest missed out on the Champions League on the final day.

Four managers - Nuno Espirito Santo, Ange Postecoglou, Sean Dyche and now Vitor Pereira - later and it remains realistic despite the self-inflicted chaos this season.

Postecoglou lifted the Europa League with Tottenham last May and told his Forest players he wanted to defend the trophy after he replaced Nuno in September.

During his 39 days in charge, Forest drew their opener 2-2 at Real Betis before a damaging 3-2 home defeat by Midtjylland saw fans turn on the Australian, who was sacked after eight winless games.

Dyche fared little better, although he at least guided Forest out of the Europa League group phase, but the turbulent nature of the season means Pereira must now balance domestic and European goals into May.

"They can do both [win the Europa League and stay up]," former England international Karen Carney told TNT Sports.

"The point against Aston Villa in the Premier League, this moment tonight finding themselves in the Europa League semi-finals, Burnley on Sunday... this could be a turning point for them this week."

Read more on Forest's juggling act

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We asked for your thoughts after Nottingham Forest reached the Europa League semi-finals by beating Porto.

Here are some of your comments:

Nottingham Forest fans

Martin: The last time Forest were in a European semi-final - 1984 Uefa Cup - I was at both matches, home and away to Anderlecht. 2-0 up from the first leg after goals from Peter Davenport, Forest lost the second leg 3-0 after controversial decisions by a referee who, it turned out retrospectively, had been bribed by the Belgian team. Forest have a chance to heal some 42-year-old scars but face a very tough semi-final against Aston Villa. Good Luck Forest.

John: Strong, exciting and skilful performance all round. Great to watch in the first half, particularly. Despite some really impressive, creative football, we still can't seem to get the sharpness in front of goal that would take pressure off. The effort, work rate, understanding and skill is all there but we've got to find a way of taking the scoring chances we're creating. This squad deserves massive credit for trying to salvage a season badly affected by decisions outside their control.

Luke: An incredible night, made sweeter by the fact that we haven't had much to celebrate in our own stadium. This season has the potential to be the best for 46 years, or the worst in 27. And I'm still not sure which way is the more likely.

Austin: Very fortunate. Terrible performance against 10 men. Forest wingers awful. Never got behind the defence all night. Credit to Porto second half. They looked more dangerous than us. Forest clueless in the final third as they so often are I'm afraid.

Sean: Classic Forest, had some really good moments going forward and had to rely on some luck as well. A definite red card for Bednarek certainly helped us. Definitely some nervous moments too in the second half, with Porto hitting the bar twice. We managed the game really well and deserve the reward for it. Aston Villa in the semi, bring it on!

Ian: A gritty performance but I thought we were lucky over the two legs to be honest - having said that the supporters carried us over the line and more of a concern is the injury to Wood, which could be career-ending. Heartfelt sympathy for Elliot Anderson, who missed the game due to a family bereavement I understand - football achievements are insignificant when tragedy strikes Well done Mr Pereira, for at least uniting this team.

Tony: A win - but not a convincing one. Forest are hard to watch sometimes and tonight was no exception - just hope that we can muster a decent side for Sunday.

Stephen: That was tough to watch, but the lads got through. Good to get to the semi-finals for Elliot. Now to focus on Sunday and Burnley. Three points is a must.

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Nottingham Forest have reached their first European semi-final in 42 years.

They will now face Premier League rivals Aston Villa for a place in the Europa League final in Istanbul.

The first leg will be played at The City Ground on 30 April before the return leg at Villa Park on 7 May.

Vitor Pereira spoke to BBC Radio Nottingham after Nottingham Forest's quarter-final victory over Porto.

The Forest boss praised the "incredible" support at The City Ground and now wants everyone "to celebrate as a family" after reaching the Europa League semi-finals.

Listen to Pereira on BBC Sounds

Keifer MacDonald
BBC Sport journalist

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You only had to look at the faces of the Nottingham Forest supporters inside the City Ground at full-time to understand what a first European semi-final in 42 years meant.

There had been suggestions that the Europa League was becoming an unwelcome distraction for a side battling for Premier League survival.

But against Porto, the Midlands outfit proved they are more than capable of balancing both competitions.

After a season of turmoil, Forest are peaking at the right time. They are now just 180 minutes away from a first European final since 1980, with Premier League rivals and the competition's favourites Villa standing in their way.

Victory was underpinned by an impressive performance from captain Morgan Gibbs-White.

The midfielder has become central to Forest's resurgence and will be key in the closing weeks of the campaign.

But injuries to Chris Wood, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Murillo could yet prove a significant concern on what was otherwise a memorable night.

With their European dream still intact, attention turns back to the Premier League, where survival remains the priority.

Forest will draw belief from this historic run to the final four and their supporters will hope there are still a few chapters left to write.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira speaking to TNT Sports: "I have a fantastic team, it's not about the manager. They have the spirit, character and quality. They deserve it. The club, and the supporters, they deserve it.

"We need to suffer together and we need to feel proud at the end of a game. Feel proud about the supporters and about the result on the pitch."

On facing Aston Villa in the semi-finals: "Just Burnley in my head at the moment! It's too much to think Villa too. I will think about it after Burnley."

On their next game against Burnley in the Premier League: "It starts now in the dressing room. After this game we start to speak about the next game. We don't have time to celebrate.

"Time to recover, come back again, mentally strong. I prefer to come with a win - the motivation is different. It will be a tough game, we need our supporters again. We need to go again as a family."

Captain Morgan Gibbs-White, speaking to TNT Sports: "Incredible win and we go onto the semi-final. An incredible night.

"One of the best nights I've had at the City Ground, thanks to the fans and everyone that's made it happen. We said early on that we'd take this competition full on and we deservedly got the win today. Now we rest and go into the league."

On fans singing about Istanbul final: "They were chanting that four games ago! Their expectations are high and so are ours. Aston Villa in the next round. We take it as it comes, but we have a Premier League game to focus on first."

On Elliot Anderson, who was omitted following the passing of his mother: "Really emotional night. It's a big shame, he's an incredible kid and no one deserves this but we're all with him."

Did you know?

• Nottingham Forest have progressed to their fourth major European semi-final having previously reached the final four of the European Cup in 1978-79 and in 1979-80 and the Uefa Cup in 1983-84.

• Across all competitions, Morgan Gibbs-White has scored as many goals in 22 appearances in 2026 (eight) as he did in 48 games in 2025 for Nottingham Forest.

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Nottingham Forest's performance

Come back on Friday for a selection of your replies

There are three Europa League and Conference League fixtures involving Premier League clubs on Thursday night - and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Europa League: Aston Villa v Bologna

• Europa League: Nottingham Forest v Porto - Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Conference League: Fiorentina v Crystal Palace

All kick-off times 20:00 BST

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live commentary on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Nottingham Forest v Porto".

Nottingham Forest are without star man Elliott Anderson for tonight's quarter-final second leg after the passing of his mother.

It means manager Vítor Pereira makes five changes from the 1-1 draw in Portugal seven days ago, with Neco Williams, Ola Aina, Ibrahim Sangare, Omari Hutchinson and Jair Cunha coming into the starting XI.

Nottingham Forest: Ortega, Cunha, Murillo, Williams; Aina, Gibbs-White, Sangare, Dominguez, Ndoye; Hutchinson; Wood.

Subs: Sels, Willows, Morato, Hudson-Odoi, Jesus, Lucca, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Abbott, Sinclair.

Porto manager Francesco Farioli has made one change to the team that faced Forest last week, with Alberto Costa replacing the injured Martim Fernandes.

Former Premier League defenders Thiago Silva and Jan Bednarek also start for the visitors at the City Ground.

Porto: D Costa, A Costa, Silva, Bednarek, Zaidu; Fofana, Rosario, Veiga; Gomes, Moffi, Sainz.

Subs: Ramos, J Costa, Kiwior, Froholdt, Pepe, Prpic, Varela, Gui, Silva, Bras, Moura, Mora.

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood says his full focus is on "performing straight away" after returning from injury.

He told BBC Radio Nottingham: "Ultimately I need to hit the ground running. There's no bedding in process.

"If we were sitting in the middle or the table or not in a European competition maybe I could bed in a bit more and take a bit more time with this injury but it's not about that, it's about performing straight away now.

"We've got some massive games both in Europe and the Premier League for the rest of the season so it's about getting back sharp as soon as possible and getting back firing and scoring goals."

• Click below to hear the full interview with BBC Radio Nottingham or listen on BBC Sounds

• Access a menu of Forest audio

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Striker Chris Wood has said Nottingham Forest are keen to move forward in both the Premier League and in Europe, before the second leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Porto at the City Ground (20:00 BST).

Vitor Pereira's side drew 1-1 in Portugal last week, with Wood playing his first minutes since October after recovering from knee surgery.

"We've got a lot of big games coming up over the next eight weeks, one of them is [Thursday] and one on Sunday [against Burnley]," Wood said, speaking at a news conference on Wednesday.

"The boss has talked about having that squad balance. No matter who is selected, [they] should be ready to play and be 100% because we want to compete on both fronts and we've got the squad to do. But we know it's going to be a tough game [against Porto] and a tough game on Sunday.

"I believe whoever the manager picks will be ready to go and ready to fight, ready to put in a good performance."

On how he has perceived the situation at Forest, who are also in the battle to avoid relegation from the Premier League, Wood added: "It has been a tough season, there has been a lot of change and a lot of upheaval at times but there has also been a lot of positivity - we're in a quarter-final of a European competition.

"We're very much happy to be in this place and giving ourselves the opportunity to progress here at the City Ground.

"We'd like to be higher up in the Premier League but that's life. We are where we are and it's about doing the business to make sure we're here next season."

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto at the City Ground (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Elliot Anderson did not train on Wednesday because of "personal problems" and it is unclear if he will be available for the fixture.

• Pereira is "very happy" to have striker Chris Wood back from a long-term injury: "It is good because he has experience in dealing with these kinds of situations. He also has the quality to score goals, which is important. It is also his ability to help the rest of the team, he works hard even when we are defending."

• When asked if he will select his Europa League starting XI with their next Premier League game in mind, he replied: "I need to think about both games because it is important to balance our energy. We need to face Burnley in our best condition because it will be a tough game again."

• On whether he sees it as a straight decision between Europa League win and Premier League survival, he said: "We will try our best to keep going in both competitions, but with responsibility. We are trying to find a way to compete in both games, this is the only way that I know: working, working, working."

• However, the players will "need to be consistent" in order to succeed in these two challenges.

• On Forest facing Porto for the third time this season: "We know the game will be very tough. I know them very well and I know we need to play at a better level than in the first leg. If we can do that, we will see what happens."

• He is pleased that the club's upturn in form is happening under his watch: "When we accept a job in the middle of a season, we know it's because something isn't going well, but I saw this as a good challenge. It is a pleasure to face Porto in the Europa League and Burnley next in the Premier League. It means we are here, we are fighting, we are alive and we have the energy to keep going."

• His key message to the players has been about "being resilient, being confident, believing in our work and believing in our qualities".

• On whether people are starting to see the 'Vitor Pereira way', he said: "I'm eager to compete and I want to prove myself every day, so this is my message and my way. My message to us and our supporters is simply: 'Let's go.' I know we can win on the pitch."

• James McAtee and Dilane Bakwa have proven they are "very talented" through their Europa League performances this season. He explained: "When you have players with this sort of talent, you just need to give them confidence, support and chances to play."

• He added that both players have "potential", but the Premier League "demands some adaptation" and luckily they have youth on their side.

Look back at Wednesday's news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Hear more from Vitor Pereira speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham on BBC Sounds here or by pressing play on the clip below

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Nottingham Forest's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto is fast approaching, so we asked if you would rather see Vitor Pereira rotate his squad again with Premier League survival in mind or go all out in the hope of reaching a European semi-final.

Here are some of your thoughts:

Jack: The focus has to be on the Premier League with the position that we are in. I can't see us getting past Aston Villa in the semi-finals anyway, but regardless we must not get relegated and risk our entire squad being dismantled. For me, he should rotate with an eye on Burnley.

Tim: In a relegation scrap, at the business end of the season, morale is just as important as fitness. He should go full strength in the first half and play a low block to see the game out. The only bad outcomes are chasing a lost cause and extra time.

Ken: It will be a case of half and half hopefully, with a strong bench. I would start Awoniyi up top and Ortega in goal to protect the defence. I would give everyone else 45-60 minutes. Sunday's game is the really important one.

Richard: He has to play our strongest team. There is too much at stake!

Tony: I'd prefer to rotate and keep our best for the league. However, the possibility of winning the Europa League, and being a Championship team in Europe, has a sort of romance about it! Being relegated and out of the Europa League is an option I can't bring myself to think about. We must stay up at all costs, regroup and go for top half next season.

Reidy: Win this, beat Aston Villa in semi-finals, and who knows! The league will take care of itself, if we keep picking up points here and there, because Spurs look doomed.

Steve: I would suggest starting with the 'strongest side' but, following the poor display against Aston Villa, I'm not convinced those players are committed enough.

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Two Premier League heavyweights are set to face each other this weekend at Etihad Stadium, as Manchester City host Arsenal.

Both teams go into the fixture with different targets. For Mikel Arteta's side, it is about extending their lead at the top of the table. For Pep Guardiola's side, it is about closing the gap and keeping themselves in the title race.

It is a fixture being labelled a title decider by some, so we want to know who you want to win this Sunday's match.

Will you be cheering on the Citizens or getting behind the Gunners?

Make your selection

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Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has a big decision to make before his side's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto on Thursday (20:00 BST).

Pereira made nine changes to his starting XI for the first leg and a much-altered team earned a 1-1 draw in Portugal.

Only Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White kept their places for Sunday's Premier League draw with Aston Villa, which moved Forest three points clear of the relegation zone.

The Reds are back on home turf at the City Ground on Thursday, so should Pereira rotate again with the Premier League survival battle in mind, or go all out in the hope of reaching a European semi-final?

Get in touch with your views here

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

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The irony of the Premier League's top clubs faltering at this stage of the season is that Nottingham Forest should have been the ones to take advantage.

After 32 games last season, the Reds were in third place with 57 points. The same points at this stage would have them in third place, two above Manchester United and Aston Villa.

If strengthening the squad last summer could have kept us on the same trajectory, then the depth and quality would have kept us in the race for the Champions League - now confirmed as five places again for the Premier League for next season.

That points tally would put us nine clear of sixth-placed Chelsea and, feasibly, last season's total of 65 points would probably be enough for a place in Europe's top competition.

As it is, football - as Liverpool, and possibly Arsenal, fans will confirm - doesn't always follow logic. And the season we have is the season we have.

Except the opportunity to write our own history, as it was back in August, is still ours to own. Vitor Pereira's steady hand took us closer to a Europa League semi-final last Thursday and Sunday's draw with Aston Villa was a warm-up against our possible opponents should we beat Porto on Thursday.

Pereira is notably the first of our four managers this season to successfully shuffle the squad in a cup game and not be embarrassed.

While hindsight is a wonderful thing, conjecture is also dangerous and each game as it comes is the sensible way to proceed. But if you can't dream in football, what can you do?

Forest's season can still go several ways but the redemption arc is one in which our failings in the Premier League could be redeemed by Europa League glory.

A place in the Champions League and Premier League status retained? The dream remains alive.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external