Ange Postecoglou will be wary of Midjtylland ace who loves to perform vs Nottingham Forest
Ange Postecoglou is battling to earn his first victory since replacing Nuno Espirito Santo as Nottingham Forest boss.
Nottingham Forest were beaten 1-0 by Sunderland in the Premier League on Saturday, 27 September, leaving them just 17th in the top flight.
The City Ground outfit will hope for a better result in the Europa League on Thursday, 2 October, when they host Danish side Midjtylland.
Postecoglou won the Europa League with his former club Tottenham last term, and would love to repeat that feat with his new club.
Philip Billing helped deny Nottingham Forest automatic promotion
Amid their efforts to perform well both domestically and in Europe, Forest are doing everything they can to retain Elliot Anderson, who has attracted transfer interest from Manchester United.
For now, though, the City Ground club should be wary of Midjtylland midfielder Philip Billing, who has performed well against Postecoglou’s men in the past.
The former Bournemouth and Huddersfield Town man has won five of his previous nine encounters with Nottingham Forest, scoring three goals in the process.
Perhaps most notably, Billing produced an assist for then Bournemouth teammate Kieffer Moore against Forest in a 1-0 win in May 2022, which ensured that the Dorset outfit earned automatic promotion to the Premier League, instead of the East Midlands side.
However, the City Ground outfit won the Championship playoff final that year, and have gone on to perform well in the top flight.
Forest will be wary of Billing’s threat nonetheless, especially after he helped Napoli win the Serie A title last season.
Igor Thiago could dent Billing’s record against Nottingham Forest
Billing could deny Postecoglou’s men from earning their first Europa League win this term, after Nottingham Forest drew 2-2 at Real Betis last time out in Europe.
| Philip Billing vs Nott’m Forest | Stats |
| Appearances | 9 |
| Won | 5 |
| Drawn | 3 |
| Lost | 1 |
| Goals | 3 |
| Assists | 1 |
That draw came thanks to Igor Thiago, who scored a brace before former Manchester United flop Antony scored a late equaliser for Manuel Pellegrini’s men.
If Thiago scores a brace once again against Midjtylland, he would become the first Forest player to achieve that feat in both of his first two appearances in a major European competition since Joe Baker in 1967’s Fairs Cup.
Should the Brazilian find himself on the scoresheet again, he could force himself into Postecoglou’s Premier League starting 11, ahead of veteran Chris Wood.
A victory over Midjtylland would give Forest the confidence they need to go on and perform in their upcoming Premier League clashes with Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United and Enzo Maresca’s Chelsea on 5 October and 18 October, respectively.