Vitor Pereira’s tenure as Nottingham Forest boss got off to a perfect start, as his side beat Fenerbahce 3-0 in the Europa League playoff first leg. That game wasn’t much of a contest, and Forest are in a commanding position for Thursday night.

Fenerbahce’s prospects look slim, but they aren’t entirely out of the contest yet - if they are to mount a comeback, the Turkish side will have to play some expansive football and commit bodies forward, which could leave gaps behind for Forest to exploit. We are likely to get quite an open contest, which makes corners a target.

There were ten corners in the reverse fixture, with Fenerbahce accounting for three of those. Forest were the dominant side, with 23 shots worth 2.74 xG, and they will once again hope to secure a positive result in front of their home fans.

Fenerbahce didn’t give a very strong account of themselves last week - they are still unbeaten in the Turkish top flight after 23 matches, on track for an invincible season.

Granted, it’s a division nowhere near as strong as the Premier League, but they’re not a side accustomed to losing, and their 3-0 loss against Forest was their heaviest defeat of the season so far. 

That result really seemed to put a dent in their confidence, as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Kasimpasa last time out, but Fenerbahce did look like a threat in the final third, forcing four saves from the opposing goalkeeper. Even against Forest in the reverse, Fenerbahce had an off day in the final third, but still managed to draw two saves from Stefan Ortega. 

Considering the game state, they will have to be front-footed in their approach here, which makes this market appeal.

Asensio played the full 90 in the first leg, and he accounted for two of Fenerbahce’s six shots at the Chobani Stadium - one was easily saved by Ortega, and the other went narrowly over the crossbar from a free-kick.

The Spaniard was Fenerbahce’s primary threat going forward, and that has been a familiar theme all season. He is averaging 3.04 shots per 90 across all competitions this term, and was on the scoresheet against Kasimpasa last time out. Asensio had four shots in that game, and three of those hit the target. 

He has been equally impressive in the Europa League, landing this selection in all six of his starts, including against Aston Villa in matchday seven of the league phase. Asensio has experience playing in England for the Villains, and will hope to make that count again in this matchup against Nottingham Forest. 

İsmail Yüksek looks a shrewd price to be fouled once at the City Ground on Thursday.

Yüksek seems to be a magnet for fouling merchants this season, averaging exactly 2.0 fouls drawn per 90 across all competitions. His recent trends in terms of being fouled read 2,2,3,0,1, including twice in the reverse leg in Turkey last week

If expected lineups are to go by, Sangare is in line to be a direct opponent of Yüksek. The Ivorian ranks second in the squad in fouls committed, averaging 1.84 fouls per 90 across all competitions this season.

Yüksek's last five games in terms of fouls drawn trends read 4,0,3,3,1, and while he did draw a blank in this regard away in Turkey, Forest can expect a much more front-footed Fenerbahce side, who have little to lose in a game where they look down and out.