Fresh from their opening pre-season success over Notts County, Nottingham Forest head to the Iberian sun to meet La Liga outfit Valencia on Tuesday in their next warm-up match.
Both sides found themselves scrambling for survival at the bottom ends of their respective leagues last term, but Steve Cooper's side would have ended up far happier than Los Che with their 16th-placed finish by the close of play,
Match preview
The plight of Valencia has been painful to witness for aficionados of Spanish football, as a team that were competing for Champions League qualification only a few years ago have spent the past four seasons dancing with the devil or in mid-table obscurity.
Going through a total of three head coaches, firstly relieving Gennaro Gattuso of his duties in January and handing Voro control of the reins for two weeks, Los Che brought Ruben Baraja back to the club where he spent the glory days of his career between 2000 and 2010, and the 48-year-old managed to keep his side afloat in the big time.
Under Baraja's guidance, Valencia only suffered two defeats from their final nine La Liga matches to stave off the threat of relegation, although a 16th-placed finish is certainly nothing to write home about, nor is failing to win any of their last three matches of the campaign.
With Valencia only finishing two points better off than La Liga 2-bound Real Valladolid, discontent towards unpopular owner Peter Lim continues to grow, so much so that the Singapore Consulate in Madrid reportedly received a protest letter from a supporters' group midway through the season.
Amid the off-field turmoil, Baraja can only focus on the task at hand on the turf, as Valencia also prepare to clash with Spartak Trnava, St. Gallen, Alaves and Aston Villa before attempting to right the wrongs of their forgettable 2022-23 season.
Valencia and Nottingham Forest were both members of the 16th-placed club last season, but while Los Che's finish was met with disdain, the Tricky Trees reacted with elation upon confirming their Premier League status in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
Hosting an ailing Arsenal side aiming to keep their fleeting title dreams alive on May 20, Nottingham Forest outfought and outplayed the Gunners and deservedly won 1-0 thanks to a Taiwo Awoniyi strike, thus ensuring that Premier League football would remain on the City Ground menu next term.
Following their unprecedented summer spending spree after returning to the big time, the pressure weighing on Cooper's shoulders could hardly have been heavier, but the 43-year-old was publicly backed by the board and even earned brief links with the Tottenham Hotspur hotseat after talk of a possible sacking had died down.
Consolidation is now the aim for the Tricky Trees, who begun their pre-season preparations with a slender success over Notts County on Saturday thanks to a strike from the seldom-seen Hwang Ui-jo, and Cooper's side will also meet Levante as part of their Spanish stopover.
Leeds United, PSV Eindhoven, Rennes and Eintracht Frankfurt also provide a healthy mix of continental pre-season opponents for Forest, who most recently tackled Valencia in the 1980 European Super Cup, losing on the now-abolished away goals rule following a 2-2 aggregate draw.
Team News
Valencia have added a touch of defensive steel to their ranks in the summer transfer window, bringing in Turkish centre-back Cenk Ozkacar from Lyon and Spanish midfielder Pepelu from Levante, and both could make their unofficial debuts on Tuesday.
However, the trio of Andre Almeida, Hugo Guillamon and in-demand goalkeeper Giorgi Mamardashvili are all recovering from their exertions at the Under-21 Euros and are not due to report for training until Monday, so all three may sit this one out.
On the other hand, veteran striker Edinson Cavani and fellow forward Marcos Andre have rejoined team training after being consigned to individual recovery work on Saturday, although Hugo Duro will expect to be given the nod up front here.
Meanwhile, Forest only had one representative at the Under-21 Euros in the shape of Morgan Gibbs-White, but the Englishman has arrived back home with a winners' medal around his neck, scoring one goal and three assists en route to the trophy with the Young Lions.
Gibbs-White will naturally be given more time to recuperate from his international feats, while Giulian Biancone and Chris Wood are both recovering from their long-term injury concerns and are unlikely to play any part in their side's pair of Spanish friendlies.
The permanent signing of Wood actually represents Forest's only permanent signing of the summer so far, while left-back Harry Toffolo was not involved against Notts County after being charged with a whopping 375 alleged breaches of FA betting rules.
Valencia possible starting lineup:
Domenech; Correia, Gabriel, Diakhaby, Gaya; Pepelu, Racic; Castillejo, Musah, Perez; Duro
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Shelvey; Worrall, Niakhate, Boly; Drager, Yates, Danilo, Freuler, Williams; Hwang, Awoniyi
We say: Valencia 1-1 Nottingham Forest
With Nottingham Forest only having one match under their belt in pre-season and Valencia just getting their squad back together, rustiness may be on show in both camps on Tuesday.
The sweltering Spanish temperatures will do Cooper's troops no favours either, and we can envisage the two sides shaking hands on a low-scoring stalemate.
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