Preview

 

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's pre-season clash between Nottingham Forest and Hertha Berlin, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Nottingham Forest continue their hectic pre-season schedule with a fixture against German side Hertha Berlin on Wednesday evening.

Results-wise, Forest have endured a mixed couple of weeks, and the same can be said of Hertha Berlin after their surprise setback at the weekend.

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Match preview

With a long-awaited return to the Premier League being complemented by six first-additions, Nottingham Forest fans can be nothing but excited ahead of 2022-23.

Although many of their senior crop from last season had earned their chance to play top-flight football, Steve Cooper has not allowed sentiment to get in the way as he looks to establish the East Midlands outfit back at this level.

The club-record acquisition of Taiwo Awoniyi is naturally the standout purchase, and Cooper is now arguably in a position where he only requires a couple of central midfielders to complete his squad.

From a results perspective, things have been less rosy with the team's only victory coming courtesy of a 1-0 scoreline at Burton Albion.

Last time out, a strong Forest team could only earn a goalless draw at Barnsley, leaving plenty of room for improvement ahead of the game at St George's Park.

As far as Hertha Berlin are concerned, there will still be a feeling of relief having narrowly avoided relegation from the Bundesliga.

Nevertheless, new head coach Sandro Schwarz will not want the club to live in the past, instead focusing his attention on trying to remain clear of the dropzone during 2022-23.

There have been some notable incomings and outgoings, with the arrivals of Filip Uremovic and Jonjoe Kenny coming on the back of key player Niklas Stark departing on a free transfer.

Hertha began pre-season with three victories in their homeland, but a 1-0 defeat to a Derby County side in transition on Saturday has left Schwarz in the knowledge that much work lies ahead over the coming weeks.

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Team News

Dean Henderson is a doubt for Forest after only lasting 30 minutes against Barnsley on Saturday, leaving fellow new arrival Wayne Hennessey to come in as his replacement.

With none of the starting lineup from the weekend playing more than 62 minutes, Cooper may be prepared to select the same outfield contingent.

Scott McKenna is most likely to come into the team having only been introduced as a second-half substitute at Oakwell.

Although Hertha made minimal changes against Derby, Schwarz is unlikely to send a weakened team into a meeting with a Premier League side.

Deyo Zeefuik and and Luca Wollschlager are seemingly best placed to earn an opportunity after their substitute outings at Pride Park.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Hennessey; Worrall, Cook, Niakhate; Biancone, Cafu, Colback, Williams; Hammond, Johnson, Awoniyi

Hertha Berlin possible starting lineup:
Christensen; Selke, Serdar, Maolida, Lukebakio, Kenny, Kempf, Plattenhardt, Boateng, Sunjic, Gechter

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We say: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Hertha Berlin

With neither side enjoying the best of days on Saturday, this is a difficult match to predict. The game being played behind-closed-doors will also only add to the competitiveness, so we are going to sit on the fence and predict a low-scoring draw.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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