There are match nights in European football that carry a weight beyond the tie itself. Thursday 19 February at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium in Istanbul is one of them.
Fenerbahçe host Nottingham Forest in the first leg of a UEFA Europa League knockout phase play-off. The winner, across two legs, advances to the Round of 16. The loser goes home. And threading through the entire occasion is one of football’s more theatrical subplots: the returning manager.
What’s at Stake
The UEFA Europa League knockout phase play-off is a two-legged elimination round. Both teams qualified from the league phase — Nottingham Forest finished 13th with 14 points, Fenerbahçe 19th with 12. Neither side secured automatic progression to the last 16. This is their second chance.
There is no away goals rule. If the aggregate score is level after two legs, the tie goes to extra time and then, if necessary, penalties. The second leg takes place at the City Ground, Nottingham, on 26 February 2026.
The Manager Returning Home
Vitor Pereira was appointed Nottingham Forest’s head coach on 15 February 2026, making him the club’s fourth manager of the Premier League season, an unwanted record. He arrived with Forest under pressure domestically, operating close to the relegation zone.
But Pereira has history with Istanbul. He managed Fenerbahçe twice: a full season in 2015-16, and a shorter return spell in 2021. Across 87 matches at the club, he won 49. He knows the Şükrü Saracoğlu atmosphere, he knows the playing culture, and Fenerbahçe’s squad will know him.
Whether that psychological edge cuts both ways — familiar faces for Pereira, or a motivated home crowd wanting to show him what he is up against, is one of the more intriguing subplots of the night.
This is also the first-ever competitive meeting between Fenerbahçe and Nottingham Forest.
Fenerbahçe: The Istanbul Fortress
Fenerbahçe arrive in this tie in formidable domestic shape. They are unbeaten in the Turkish Super Lig this season — a remarkable run across a 44-match campaign spanning all competitions, with 27 wins and 11 draws. Their most recent league fixture saw them travel to Trabzonspor and win 3-2, with Marco Asensio as the decisive force.
The Yellow Canaries are second in the Super Lig, pressing Galatasaray at the summit, and their home record in European football has historically been difficult to breach. A crowd in excess of 40,000 at the Şükrü Saracoğlu creates an environment that has unsettled visiting sides across UEFA competition.
Their Europa League league phase return of 12 points from eight games put them in the play-off bracket, but their performance level domestically suggests a side well capable of eliminating a Premier League outfit over two legs.
Key players to watch:
- Marco Asensio: The former Real Madrid midfielder has been a decisive contributor this season; his technical quality on the ball gives Fenerbahçe composure in tight moments.
- Kerem Aktürkoğlu: One of Turkey’s most dynamic wingers; his pace and directness on the right causes problems against any defensive structure.
- Dusan Tadic: Experienced at the highest European level; the captain reads the game as well as anyone in the squad and dictates tempo.
Nottingham Forest: The Pereira Project Begins
For Nottingham Forest, this is simultaneously a high-stakes European occasion and a managerial introduction. Pereira has had days, not weeks, to prepare his squad for the demands of European football in a hostile stadium.
Forest’s league phase campaign was inconsistent but showed clear potential. A 4-0 defeat of Ferencváros in their final group game demonstrated attacking sharpness; a 4-0 aggregate swing across eight games illustrates a squad capable of big nights. The defeats came against Midtjylland and Braga, both defensively organised sides in home environments.
The challenge for Pereira on night one is structural: how to set up a team he has barely coached in an atmosphere designed to overwhelm. A clean sheet in Istanbul would be the most valuable result Forest could carry back to Nottingham.
Key players to watch:
- Morgan Gibbs-White: Forest’s most creative force in the league and in European competition. His ability to carry the ball forward and connect play makes him central to anything Forest produce going forward.
- Ola Aina: The right back offers Forest energy in transition and has been one of the Premier League’s more consistent performers in his position this season.
- Elliot Anderson: The midfielder brings energy and intensity to the press — exactly the kind of work-rate Pereira demands from central areas.
Tactical Notes
Fenerbahçe will look to use the early atmosphere. Home sides in Turkish football tend to press hard in the opening stages, and the Şükrü Saracoğlu crowd is capable of generating a noise level that disrupts the rhythm of visiting teams. Expect the hosts to attempt to settle the tie early with a goal.
Forest under Pereira, based on his work at previous clubs, tend to operate with a compact defensive shape, strong on transitions. If Forest can absorb early pressure and carry a threat on the counter, the tie remains open heading into the second leg.
The European play-off format rewards teams who avoid disaster in leg one. A narrow home win for Fenerbahçe, or a draw, would leave everything to play for at the City Ground.
The Lean
Fenerbahçe carry home advantage, form, and familiarity on their side. A well-drilled squad, a hostile stadium, and the factor of a manager who knows their opponents better than his own new side at this stage all point toward the hosts taking a first-leg lead. Whether Forest’s quality over the course of the second leg is enough to overturn it is the question for 26 February.
This is a genuinely open tie. Forest are not at the City Ground yet, but they know the way back.
Statistics sourced from UEFA.com and search-verified public data from multiple verified outlets. Data correct at time of writing.
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