Nottingham Forest travel to Germany for their seventh and final pre-season friendly as Steve Cooper's side face Eintracht Frankfurt at the Deutsche Bank Park on Saturday.
The Tricky Trees suffered a 5-0 thrashing at the hands of Rennes on Wednesday, while the German club drew 1-1 with Dutch team Vitesse last time out.
Match preview
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It would not be unfair to say that Eintracht Frankfurt have endured a disappointing pre-season up to now, as they have managed to win just one of their four friendlies, recording one draw and two losses along the way.
Granted, the Eagles crushed non-league outfit FSV Braunfels 15-1 in their first pre-season friendly, but they swiftly suffered back-to-back defeats against lower-league sides Steinbach Haiger and Fulda-Lehnerz.
However, Frankfurt avoided a third successive defeat last time out as they recorded a 1-1 draw against Vitesse, while new manager Dino Toppmoller made nine substitutions to give game time to as many players as possible.
Toppmoller replaced Oliver Glasner at the end of last season, despite the fact that Eintracht finished seventh in the Bundesliga – securing European football once again – while reaching the final of the DFB-Pokal.
This is Toppmoller's first managerial job since leaving Belgian club Royal Excelsior Virton back in 2019, although the 42-year-old has spent time as an assistant at both Bayern Munich and RB Leipzig since then.
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Nottingham Forest's pre-season preparations went from bad to worse as they suffered a 5-0 thrashing against Rennes on Wednesday, meaning that Steve Cooper's side have lost each of their last three friendlies without scoring.
Worryingly for Cooper, Wednesday's starting lineup featured many players who would expect to start the first game of the Premier League season against Arsenal next week, including Morgan Gibbs-White, Serge Aurier, Anthony Elanga, Remo Freuler and Joe Worrall.
When you look at the bigger picture, the Tricky Trees have lost four of their six warm-up matches so far, with defeats to Valencia, Leeds United and PSV Eindhoven preceding the midweek thrashing against Rennes.
Forest kicked off their pre-season preparations with a 1-0 victory over local rivals Notts County before losing to Valencia, with a subsequent 2-1 win against Levante pointing towards a promising pre-season for the Reds.
However, it has been all downhill since then, so Cooper will be desperate for his players to produce an improved performance against Eintracht Frankfurt ahead of what promises to be another gruelling Premier League campaign.
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Team News
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Eintracht Frankfurt are still without injured trio Mehdi Loune (ACL), Ansgar Knauff (collar bone) and Lucas Alario (knee), with the start of the Bundesliga season a fortnight away.
Toppmoller has made big changes to the squad this summer, signing nine players while also bringing in Leeds United's Robin Koch on loan, although the departure of Japanese playmaker Daichi Kamada will impact the team.
In comparison to last year's spending spree, Nottingham Forest have kept a low profile in this summer's transfer market, signing Anthony Elanga and Ola Aina while making Chris Wood's loan deal permanent.
After notching eight goals and three assists during his maiden Premier League campaign, Brennan Johnson has not featured in pre-season, with the 22-year-old attracting interest from other top-flight clubs.
Key players like Taiwo Awoniyi, Moussa Niakhate and Felipe were also absent from the squad on Wednesday, so Cooper will be eager to add to his squad before the transfer window slams shut.
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Buta, Hasebe, Pacho, Tuta, Max; Skhiri, Dina Ebimbe, Gotze; Hauge, Kolo Muani
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Horvath; Aurier, McKenna, Worrall, Aina; Freuler, Kouyate, Yates, Danilo; Gibbs-White; Wood
We say: Eintracht Frankfurt 2-0 Nottingham Forest
If Nottingham Forest's recent results are anything to go by, Eintracht Frankfurt should enjoy a relatively comfortable Saturday afternoon on home soil, as the Tricky Trees have lost each of their previous three friendlies, conceding eight goals while failing to find the back of the net.
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Ben Morris
