The two former Man United flops Nottingham Forest will face in Europa League opener
Nottingham Forest face Real Betis in their first Europa League game on Wednesday (24 September) evening, with two former Manchester United players likely to feature.
Ange Postecoglou replaced Nuno Espirito Santo at the City Ground earlier this month, but is still searching for a first win in charge of his new side.
Forest only qualified for the Europa League after Crystal Palace were kicked out of the competition for breaching multi-club ownership rules.
The Trentside club finished seventh in the Premier League last season, which should have given them Conference League football, but they benefited from Palace’s misfortune.
Sofyan Amrabat and Antony to face Nottingham Forest
Man United fans will all be aware that Antony completed a move to Real Betis on deadline day, to bring a nightmare chapter in his career to an end.
However, Red Devils supporters may not know that former midfielder Sofyan Amrabat also joined Betis over the summer, on loan from Turkish side Fenerbahce.
Amrabat had a season-long spell at Old Trafford in the 2023-24 campaign, on loan from Fiorentina, playing alongside Antony under Erik Ten Hag.
United had the option to trigger a £21.4million buy option for the Moroccan that summer, but he had failed to impress in Manchester and returned to Italy.
Real Betis giving Premier League rejects another chance
Antony went on loan to Real Betis last season, and put his Man United woes behind him as he dazzled domestically and in the Conference League, before eventually making the move permanent.
However, the Brazilian is not the only player to revive his career at Betis, with a number of other ex-Premier League players doing so before him.
Giovani Lo Celso joined the Spanish club on a permanent transfer from Tottenham in the summer of 2024, and scored eight goals in La Liga last season.
Betis also boast former West Ham United fan favourite Pablo Fornals, long-serving Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin, and are managed by Premier League-winning boss Manuel Pellegrini.
Pellegrini’s side will provide a tough test for Nottingham Forest, and are coming into the game off the back of a 3-1 win over Real Sociedad.