Nottingham Forest players were popular FPL picks last season &#8211; but can they match or better their seventh-place finish in 2025/26?
Our FPL team preview looks at their top-scoring players, key <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a>, opening fixtures, predicted lineup, set-piece takers and more.
And with Forest players performing strongly for FPL&#8217;s new <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fpl-2025-26-changes-defensive-contributions">defensive contributions</a> last season, their players could be key to success once again.
View our top three Forest FPL players for Gameweek 1 &#8211; and all of our pre-season content &#8211; in our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fantasy-premier-league-ultimate-guide-fpl-tips">Ultimate Guide to FPL</a>.
<h3>🤖 Hub AI quick summary 🤖</h3>
Simplicity and speed are among Fantasy Football Hub&#8217;s core values, so many of our articles this season will come with a quick &#8216;Hub AI&#8217; summary for those who want the answer &#8211; fast.
Read the full article for the detailed picture &#8211; and listen to an audio summary too 👇
<ul>
<li>🔥Chris Wood helped Forest secure European football, scoring 200 FPL points and 20 league goals &#8211; but he over-performed his data significantly</li>
<li>💪New FPL defensive contribution rules significantly boost the appeal of their centre-backs but they may concede a few more goals than last season</li>
<li>🗓️Forest top the Hub&#8217;s fixture ticker in the opening weeks of the season</li>
</ul>
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<h2>Top-scoring Nottingham Forest FPL picks</h2>
<h3>🥇Chris Wood &#8211; 200 points</h3>
Wood had his best Premier League season by a distance, scoring 20 goals.
He was the fifth highest-scoring player in the game, earning 41 bonus points &#8211; a tally bettered only by Mohamed Salah.
The New Zealand international defied his 13.56 expected goals (xG) with clinical finishing. He had just 68 shots on goal, the least of any of the league&#8217;s top 10 goalscorers.
<div id="attachment_73639" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73639" class="size-full wp-image-73639" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/playerstats-Wood-bordered.jpeg" alt="Chris Wood Stats" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/playerstats-Wood-bordered.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/playerstats-Wood-bordered-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/playerstats-Wood-bordered-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Chris Wood&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></div>
&nbsp;
<h3>🥈Morgan Gibbs-White &#8211; 154 points</h3>
Gibbs-White quietly amassed seven goals and 11 assists, putting him second among his teammates for goal involvements.
The midfielder was involved in a third of Forest&#8217;s goals while he was on the pitch and created the most big chances (10).
His FPL points total was just short of making the top 10 for midfielders &#8211; he ranked 12th best overall.
He looked set to join Spurs in the summer transfer window, only to sign a new Forest contract.
<div id="attachment_73766" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73766" class="size-full wp-image-73766" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Gibbs-White.jpeg" alt="Morgan Gibbs-White's stats" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Gibbs-White.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Gibbs-White-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Gibbs-White-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Morgan Gibbs-White&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></div>
&nbsp;
<h3>🥉Anthony Elanga &#8211; 153 points</h3>
Six goals and 11 assists were recorded by Elanga, just one goal short of Gibbs-White&#8217;s total.
A 16 point haul against Ipswich in Gameweek 29 was the best of four double-digit returns.
Neither Elanga or Gibbs-White were ever highly owned but Elanga caught the attention of Newcastle, who secured him for £55m.
Forest&#8217;s defenders were popular meanwhile.
Elanga and Gibbs-White were just a few points ahead of Matz Sels and Nikola Milenkovic, who attracted more attention thanks to Forest&#8217;s clean sheets.
Milenkovic would have been the top-scoring defender had FPL&#8217;s new defensive contribution points been a factor, something which also heavily benefited centre-back partner Murillo.
<div id="attachment_73765" style="width: 850px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73765" class="size-full wp-image-73765" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Elanga-gw1-38.jpeg" alt="Anthony Elanga's stats" width="840" height="690" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Elanga-gw1-38.jpeg 840w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Elanga-gw1-38-300x246.jpeg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Elanga-gw1-38-768x631.jpeg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 840px) 100vw, 840px" />Anthony Elanga&#8217;s <a href="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta/" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c="1" title="FPL Stats by OPTA - Player and Team Stats">stats</a></div>
<h2>Nottingham Forest&#8217;s FPL stats</h2>
Few would have expected Forest to threaten a top-four placing after they finished 17th in 2023/24.
But a strong start to last season put them third come January and only a poor run of two wins in eight ended their Champions League hopes.
FPL managers will now be wondering whether their top-seven placing was a fluke.
And judging by the data, a step backwards would be less surprising than another top-half finish.
<h3>Attacking over-performance</h3>
Forest ranked ninth for goals scored (58), well ahead of previous seasons.
But their xG was 15th for the second season running and slightly dropped.
From shots on target to big chances, everything points to Forest being a bottom-half attacking side.
More than 40% of their goals came via Wood &#8211; but the Tricky Trees cannot rely on their main man significantly outpacing his xG season after season.
<div id="attachment_73289" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73289" class="size-full wp-image-73289" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wood-4.jpg" alt="Chris Wood. Picture by Getty Images" width="1024" height="683" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wood-4.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wood-4-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Wood-4-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Chris Wood. Picture by Getty Images</div>
&nbsp;
<h3>Building on encouraging defensive signs</h3>
Forest conceded 21 fewer goals than 2023/24 but it was very much a season of two halves.
Their expected goals conceded (xGC) was third best up to Gameweek 19 but fifth worst over the rest of the campaign, meaning it ended up ranking 11th over the 38 gameweeks combined.
Fatigue was potentially an issue as a result, something they will have to contend with this season when they have European football to contend with.
While their xGC was in the bottom half, the actual number (50.5) improved slightly on the previous season &#8211; and their 13 clean sheets was in line with what was expected.
Remaining solid at the back is therefore a possibility, although FPL managers should not be too surprised to see them concede a few more in 2025/26.
<h3>Stats summary</h3>
⚽ Goals: 58 (T-9th)
📈 Expected goals (xG): 46.53 (15th)
🤦‍♂️ Goals conceded: 46 (sixth)
📊 Expected goals conceded (xGC): 50.5 (11th)
🧤 Clean sheets: 13 (T-2nd)
⭐ FPL points: 1,736 (fifth)
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/opta">Full Opta stats for all clubs</a></li>
</ul>
<div id="attachment_73664" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73664" class="size-full wp-image-73664" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Nikola-Milenkovic.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="682" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Nikola-Milenkovic.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Nikola-Milenkovic-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Nikola-Milenkovic-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Nikola Milenkovic</div>
<h2>First six fixtures: Buy or avoid Nottingham Forest picks in FPL?</h2>
Hub <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/fixture-ticker">fixture ticker</a> rank: First
No other team can match Forest&#8217;s opening set of games, according to the Hub ticker.
Burnley (A) and Sunderland (H) represents a double helping of newly promoted teams &#8211; an unmatched bonus.
Arsenal (A) is the main drawback but otherwise, many FPL managers will be particularly keen to add a Forest defender to their squads for Gameweek 1.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/best-nottingham-forest-fpl-picks">Best Forest FPL picks for 2025/26</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>Nottingham Forest predicted lineup for FPL Gameweek 1</h2>
For our final predicted lineups, see our <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/premier-league-predicted-lineups">team news article</a> ahead of the deadline.
But below, we take a look at our Forest predicted starting 11 as things stand.
Their back line was largely settled last season and it should be more of the same, with new centre-back Jair Cunha adding depth.
Elliot Anderson is of FPL interest in midfield, with his defensive contributions enhancing his appeal.
New signing <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/the-transfer-hub-key-signings-how-each-team-is-shaping-up">Dan Ndoye</a> should slot straight into the space left vacant by Elanga, while Gibbs-White signing a new contract is a boost.
Wood will have competition from summer recruit Igor Jesus and it will be interesting to see if Nuno Espirito Santo tweaks his formation to accommodate both if Jesus starts strongly.
In a recent interview, Wood hinted that his manager <a href="https://www.nottinghampost.com/sport/football/transfer-news/nottingham-forest-birmingham-city-friendly-10394895">wanted them to be flexible</a> and not play the same in every game.
<div id="attachment_73771" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-73771" class="size-large wp-image-73771" src="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Forest-predicted-lineup-1024x422.jpg" alt="Nottingham Forest predicted lineup" width="1024" height="422" srcset="https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Forest-predicted-lineup-1024x422.jpg 1024w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Forest-predicted-lineup-300x124.jpg 300w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Forest-predicted-lineup-768x317.jpg 768w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Forest-predicted-lineup-1536x634.jpg 1536w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Forest-predicted-lineup-2048x845.jpg 2048w, https://cms.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Forest-predicted-lineup-1080x446.jpg 1080w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Nottingham Forest predicted lineup</div>
<h2>Nottingham Forest set-piece takers</h2>
The Hub keeps a track on all set-piece takers on our dedicated <a href="https://www.fantasyfootballhub.co.uk/premier-league-set-piece-takers">set-piece page</a>.
A summary of Forest&#8217;s likely set-piece takers is below.
Penalties: Chris Wood
Direct free-kicks: Anthony Elanga, Morgan Gibbs-White, Murillo
Corners: Anthony Elanga, Elliot Anderson
Aerial threats: Chris Wood, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo
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Nottingham Forest FPL team preview 2025/26

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