nottm forest vs blackburn rovers: First pre-season marker for Glasner
Nottingham Forest’s friendly against Blackburn Rovers offers an early look at Oliver Glasner’s first pre-season plans. The match comes during Forest’s Portugal…
PORTUGAL — Nottingham Forest’s nottm forest vs blackburn rovers friendly is part of the club’s 12-day training camp in Portugal, giving new head coach Oliver Glasner an early look at his squad before the Premier League season begins.
The match matters because Forest have entered the 2026-27 campaign with a new manager, a new rhythm, and a handful of summer changes to absorb. Quick test. Real answers.
First look under Oliver Glasner
Forest announced Glasner after Vítor Pereira left his role when the club exercised a mutual break clause in his contract. The former Crystal Palace boss arrived after the end of the 2025-26 season and now faces the practical work of shaping Forest’s pre-season across a packed schedule.
The Blackburn game sits inside a wider run of fixtures that also includes Vitória de Guimarães and Sporting CP during the Portugal camp. A short trip to face Notts County was later confirmed, while home friendlies against Bayer Leverkusen and Brest were also added on July 2.
For Forest, the Blackburn meeting is not just another summer run-out. It is one of the earliest chances to measure how quickly Glasner’s ideas are taking hold. Team structure, pressing triggers, and the shape without the ball will all come under scrutiny, even if the match is still weeks away from anything resembling competitive pressure.
Why Blackburn is a useful check
Blackburn Rovers give Forest a different kind of pre-season gauge. The club can see how the squad handles a competitive English opponent before the Premier League campaign gathers pace. That kind of fixture can expose gaps fast.
Forest’s summer already carries a bigger backdrop than a normal friendly window. The 2026-27 season is the club’s 161st in history and their fifth consecutive year in the Premier League. They are also set to compete in the FA Cup and the EFL Cup, which makes every pre-season step matter a little more.
There is also a human edge to the summer. Elliot Anderson has posted an emotional goodbye to Forest as he prepares to join Manchester City. BBC Sport reported that City confirmed an agreement to sign Anderson, with the formalities to be finalised after the World Cup.
Anderson made 92 appearances across two seasons after joining from Newcastle in 2024. He helped Forest qualify for Europe in 2024-25 and reach the Europa League semi-finals the following year. His farewell message thanked the club, the staff and the fans, and said Forest would always have a special place in his heart.
What the friendly means for Forest
That makes the Blackburn match useful in a very direct way. It is not only about fitness. It is a first live check on how Forest cope with a new coach while also dealing with the loss of a player who had become part of the club’s recent rise.
Supporters following pre-season will be watching for more than the scoreline. They will want to see which players Glasner trusts, how quickly the team connects in possession, and whether the defensive habits look settled. For a squad that is entering another Premier League season while trying to maintain momentum, those small signs matter.
The timing is especially notable because Forest are moving through a busy summer schedule rather than a quiet build-up. The Blackburn fixture, confirmed as part of the Portugal camp, sits alongside opponents from England, Portugal, Germany and France. That gives Glasner a broad set of tests before the serious work of the league starts.
The bigger picture is already clear: Forest are not treating pre-season as a series of warm-ups. They are using it to reset after a coaching change, adjust to a key departure, and settle into a campaign that includes four fronts when domestic cups are counted. The Blackburn game is one of the first markers in that process, and it arrives while Forest push through a 12-day camp in Portugal.
