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Morgan Gibbs-White says it will be an "incredible feeling" to step out on to the City Ground pitch when Nottingham Forest host their first European match in around three decades on Thursday night (20:00 BST).

The Reds are still searching for their first win under new head coach Ange Postecoglou and the England midfielder is hoping it could come against FC Midtjylland on home turf.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Gibbs-White said: "This is what we have worked for and what we feel like we deserve after last season. It will be an incredible feeling to just be under the City Ground lights, knowing that European football is back here.

"Just knowing that we have given back to the fans is something we are really proud of as a club. There is nobody in this city that deserves it more than our fans, they are the ones that have backed us through absolutely everything.

"I expect the players to be bouncing and everyone to be really looking forward to the game. It's going to be a really special night."

When asked about walking out to the Europe League music last week, he replied: "It was a special feeling. I just wish that first game was at home!

"I get little goosebumps thinking back to that moment. As a player, you can't let these moments pass by and you've got to really grab them. It's such a small career so you might never get the opportunity again."

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Today's the day.

European football returns to the City Ground for the first time in almost 30 years as Forest host FC Midtjylland in the Europa League.

Following last week's trip to Real Betis, the Reds now welcome the Danish side for their opening home game of the competition, hoping to pick up their first win under Ange Postecoglou.

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Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Nottingham Forest have been unlucky and the players deserve more for their efforts, according to boss Ange Postecoglou.

The squad have quickly bought into Postecoglou's methods despite the five-game winless start, which was extended after defeat to Sunderland on Saturday.

The Europa League visit of FC Midtjylland on Thursday - the City Ground's first European game since 1996 - represents another chance to get off the mark.

Morgan Gibbs-White has been enthused by Postecoglou's philosophy and the head coach feels they could even have a 100% record.

Postecoglou said: "We've got to be fair to players. I mean, what are they going to say? They're not going to say it's rubbish and 'I hate the manager'.

"I do genuinely think they see what we're trying to do.

"More important to me is what I see in terms of the games, in terms of the training and look I get it people look at the the end result and work their way back from that so when you're not winning they just think that obviously there's something wrong.

"Then they look for things that are wrong but you know the flip side of that is I've got to give feedback to the players, analyse the game and be honest with them.

"When I analyse the games I see they're doing so many things right and in a normal course of events we could have been sitting here and I don't think anyone would begrudge us if we'd won all those games.

"Apart from the Arsenal game I don't think anyone would have said we were lucky if we had won those games.

"There's so many positive signs and I think the players, they're not silly they see that and they understand that but I want them to get the rewards for their hard work."

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Former Nottingham Forest player David Phillips is "absolutely delighted" younger fans are getting to experience European football at Nottingham Forest.

Phillips was part of the 1995-96 Forest squad that competed in the Uefa Cup, where they were knocked out by Bayern Munich in the quarter-finals.

Speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham, Phillips said it's been "too long" since fans of the club last got to experience a European competition.

He said: "I'm absolutely delighted. There was the speculation whether they'd been in Europa League or Europa Conference League. It's ended up being the right league for Nottingham Forest.

"I'm absolutely delighted the way the club has moved over the last few years, for them to get into Europe is fantastic. It's been too long and they've made a good start.

"I'm really pleased for them [the new generation of fans]. We can all reminisce about what happened 29 years ago, but there's a lot of fans now that weren't born at the time.

"It's only through history, heritage and parents that they become Forest supporters. They're now getting to experience what others experienced 29 years ago."

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Nottingham Forest renew their European adventure on Thursday having not won in any competition since their opening game of the season.

However, they have had to contend with a change of head coach and the fact that five of their seven matches since were away from home, including games at Arsenal, in-form Crystal Palace and Burnley, whose Turf Moor ground has been a fortress in recent times.

In many respects, their start to the season has not been markedly worse than others they have had since returning to the top flight, and has been better than the one they made to their first season back in 2022-23.

But what is perhaps concerning is the absence of clean sheets, which they kept in a third of their matches last season.

Forest have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their eight matches in all competitions in 2025-26 and their 15 goals conceded so far is their worst since their return to the top tier.

In 2022-23, they actually kept two clean sheets but their overall goals conceded figure was skewed by a 6-0 thrashing by Manchester City.

New boss Ange Postecoglou is yet to win in five games in charge although there have been some positive signs that results might come soon.

But his attacking brand of football means Forest fans might not be confident that the defence will open their clean sheet account against Midtjylland, who are the top scorers in the Danish top flight, averaging two and a half goals per game.

• Not a Forest fan? Find and follow your club here

Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and West Ham are interested in Parma's 23-year-old Argentine striker Mateo Pellegrino, but the Italian club do not want to sell him before next summer. (TuttoSport via Parma Live - in Italian), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

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Altrincham have signed midfielder Jack Hinchy on loan from League Two Notts County.

The 22-year-old, who featured in 31 games for the Magpies last season, moves to Alty in a deal until the end of December.

The latest episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast has landed!

The team preview the Europa League clash against Danish side FC Midtjylland with former player David Phillips.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White insists he had to put his family first during his transfer saga with Tottenham.

The England midfielder looked close to a move to Spurs in the summer before it collapsed in acrimonious style.

In July BBC Sport reported Gibbs-White was set to have a medical as Spurs looked to trigger his £60m release clause.

But Forest were furious at Tottenham's conduct and at the time they insisted they had not given Spurs permission to speak to Gibbs-White and were willing to go to whatever lengths required to prevent the transfer taking place.

Gibbs-White and partner Britney also welcomed their second child in the summer and the ex-Wolves midfielder needed to prioritise them.

"I feel like a lot of people just think that footballers are almost robots," said the 25-year-old, who eventually signed a new deal at Forest.

"We train and play football but everybody has a personal life. Everybody has things going on in their personal life. You might have something going on now, but you're still showing up to work and do your work.

"That's exactly what I have to do. It's all about trying to deal with what's at home as well as trying to apply yourself every day to be the best that you possibly can.

"It was just a really stressful time, for me personally, for my family.

"In reality, your family is everything, and you have to put them first. And that's a decision I made, I had to put them first, and focus on what was right at the moment, and that was being with my wife and my new-born son."

Gibbs-White is expected to return for Forest's Europa League game with Midtjylland on Thursday, their first European game at the City Ground since 1996, after starting on the bench in Saturday's defeat to Sunderland.

He added: "After everything what we've been through together and knowing we were back in Europe, I really wanted to continue that journey.

"The fans are going to be incredible. That was a big reason as to why I wanted to stay."

Listen to Gibbs-White on BBC Sounds

Millie Sian
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Ange Postecoglou has been speaking to the media before Thursday's Europa League game against FC Midtjylland at the City Ground (kick-off 20:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Oleksandr Zinchenko will not be available due to soreness in his groin. It is "nothing significant" but he probably won't be back in contention until after the international break.

• Murillo is available after training over the last few days. The defender completed his "first solid block of training" since picking up his injury, so will be ready for selection.

• He anticipates a "cracking atmosphere" at the City Ground, as the club hosts its first European match in nearly three decades. Postecoglou added: "European nights always seem to be a little bit more special. The fans will get themselves up for it because it is something different and unique."

• It is a "privilege" for him to lead the team out in Europe, but he highlighted that Steve Cooper and Nuno Espirito Santo were the key figures that helped the club reclaim its European status. He added: "I'm just the beneficiary of that and I don't take that lightly."

• The club will be treating the Europa League as a "separate entity" to the Premier League this season. He explained: "It challenges you in different ways and you meet opponents you don't know very well. If you're dismissive of that then you fall into a trap."

• On FC Midtjylland, he said: "I know a fair bit about them and I have experience playing against them from Celtic. They have a very clear identity of football. They are very reliant on being physical, on their set pieces and on being really direct. You know what you're getting when you play them."

• The Danish club enjoy "playing vertical football, getting from one end of the pitch to the other very quickly, and testing their opponents with their size".

• It is "only natural" that people are eagerly awaiting his first win as manager. He explained: "When you've been on a run like ours, things like this become a little more prevalent in people's minds. But we've got to trust in the process and the results will come."

• When asked about rotating his side a fair bit since coming in, he replied: "It has maybe disrupted our fluency a little bit, but it means we have a decent base for all our players through this next block of games. We are going to need that because this block will be very demanding, we'll be playing every three or four days."

• The players recognise everything is moving in a "positive direction" but Postecoglou wants them to "get the rewards for their hard work" sooner rather than later, in the hope that it will also ignite some momentum.

Follow all of Wednesday's news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to Postecoglou on BBC Sounds

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Ange Postecoglou is under no illusions as he seeks his first win as Nottingham Forest boss.

Being winless in five games is not ideal but the situation is far from the point where the former Tottenham manager should be under any serious pressure as he himself adjusts to a new environment and new players.

Aside from the 3-0 defeat at Arsenal there have been positive signs that his philosophy could bring fast results once it clicks.

Last week's Europa League draw at Real Betis should be viewed as positive, despite the hosts' late equaliser, and the visit of FC Midtjylland on Thursday represents another chance to get off the mark, with Postecoglou facing the media on Wednesday.

It is Forest's first European game at the City Ground since the Uefa Cup quarter final second leg defeat to Bayern Munich, where the eventual winners won 5-1.

There will be a sense of occasion - and victory would help erase the frustration following Saturday's Premier League defeat by Sunderland.

The expectation on Forest this season has naturally grown after last season's seventh-place finish and £180m summer spend.

So it is understandable why there may be anxiety among supporters, especially after failing to beat the Black Cats.

It has not fallen into place for Postecoglou yet, but Sunderland goalkeeper Robin Roefs made six saves as Forest tried to recover and Chris Wood missed a golden opportunity to level in the second half - the type he would have taken last season.

Green shoots are there but Postecoglou has already conceded winning is the most important thing.

Ellie Molloson
Fan writer

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When we signed Ange Postecoglou, we were promised a winner - an experienced manager who has won trophies repeatedly, ended Tottenham's 17-year trophy drought by earning their first European title in 41 years.

Given Forest's sudden re-entrance into European football, on paper Ange sounds like a perfect fit. But to quote Brian Clough: "Unfortunately, the game [is] played on grass."

Postecoglou remains winless after five games and has only managed one point in the Premier League and one in the Europa League. To make matters worse, Forest were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Swansea City and most recently lost at home to newly promoted side Sunderland. Many of us are beginning to ask how can this be?

There are three potential factors at play: Injuries, contrasting play style, and individual error.

Last season, Forest were lucky and faced little to no injuries. However, since the new manager was appointed three weeks ago, two of our back four, Ola Aina and Murillo, are both out injured. While we can see the significant impact this has had to our defensive stability, this alone cannot justify the results.

Secondly, key players such as Chris Wood are facing an individual slump in performance. After Brentford, Wood had a 100% conversion rate, but in the past three games, he did not convert any of his chances.

Finally, a new playing style is being implemented without any pre-season for players to adapt. Ange plays an attractive style of possession-based football, deploying a high line and inverted full-backs to overwhelm the opposition's midfield.

This is a stark contrast to Nuno's strong defensive approach, which prioritised efficiency over possession by using quick counter-attacks to score.

Will time be enough for players to adapt? Or does he need to move away from his signature style?

Find more from Ellie Molloson at Garibaldi Girls, external