It has been a typically manic season at Nottingham Forest.

Last season, the chaos made way for a surge of positivity, as Forest pushed for Europe under Nuno Espirito Santo, and for plenty of the campaign, it seemed as though Champions League qualification was a real possibility.

They eventually fell short, but this season was nevertheless still meant to be a celebration of their success in returning to Europe for the first time in 30 years.

Instead, it has been a disaster, and Forest are now on their fourth head coach of the season.

Last week, owner Evangelos Marinakis dismissed Sean Dyche just a few hours after Forest failed to beat lowly Wolves, leaving them three points above the Premier League relegation zone.

Forest had 35 shots in that 0-0 draw on Wednesday, which is the most a team managed by Dyche has ever had in a Premier League match. Forest's 2.55 expected goals (xG) was the second-most xG generated in a match by a team that did not score since the start of last season (Leeds United (2.63) v Burnley in October).

The question became, where would Marinakis turn next, having already cycled through Nuno, Ange Postecoglou and Dyche. The answer: Vitor Pereira.

Wolves dismissed Pereira in November on the back of a 10-game winless run to start the campaign, setting the tone for their doomed season.

But Forest will be hoping for the kind of impact Pereira had when he first took over at Molineux in 2024-25, as he steered Wolves away from danger.

Before Pereira turns his focus to the Premier League relegation battle, though, he makes his bow against one of his former clubs, as Forest head to Istanbul to take on Turkish giants Fenerbahce.

What's expected?

Thursday's contest marks the first competitive meeting between these teams.

Fener have won just one of their last nine games against English sides (D2 L6).

This is the first knockout tie between English and Turkish opponents since the 2014-15 UEFA Europa League last 32, when Liverpool faced Besiktas.

Both teams won 1-0 at home across the two legs, with Besiktas progressing after a penalty shootout win.

The Opta supercomputer has run 10,000 data-led simulations, and it is finding this one tough to call.

The chance of a Fener win is 37.1%, but the probability of Forest taking an advantage back to the City Ground is 36.6%.

A draw comes in with a 26.3% likelihood.

Can Pereira build on Dyche's solid European foundations?

Dyche was averaging 1.22 points per game in the league at Forest, so if Pereira matches that, it should be enough. And while the absolute priority will be on ensuring safety as swiftly as possible, there is first the small task of a Europa League trip to Fenerbahce.

Forest's European results under Dyche were, in the main, positive, bar a dour 1-0 defeat to Braga last month.

The former Everton and Burnley boss won four of his six Europa League matches in charge, with a 4-0 win over Ferencvaros a high point at the end of January.

Goals may have been in short supply in the Premier League (only Wolves have scored fewer goals than Forest's 25) but that has not been the case in this competition.

Forest have netted 15 goals in eight Europa League matches this season – only in their 1978-79 victorious European Cup campaign have they scored more in a major European season (19 in nine games).

In fact, Forest's 17.6 expected goals leads the way in the Europa League this season. And going the other way, their 5.3 xG against is actually the best in the tournament.

They are creating plenty of opportunities, and not giving up many at all in return.

So, while Pereira has been brought in to change the story and ensure Forest's season does not end in a complete collapse, he should perhaps not look to change too much when it comes to how they were playing under Dyche in Europe.

Fener's hopes rest on a first-leg win?

As mentioned, Pereira has history with Fener, who are second behind rivals Galatasaray in the Turkish Super Lig.

Pereira coached Fener twice, first in 2015-16, before he returned for a short spell in 2021.

Across those two stints, Pereira oversaw 87 matches in all competitions, winning 49 (56.2%) and losing 22 times.

Domenico Tedesco is their current head coach, having replaced Jose Mourinho, and Fener do have plenty of talent in their squad.

Names Premier League fans will recognise like N'Golo Kante (who arrived earlier this month), Ederson and Fred are among Tedesco's options, though Jhon Duran has moved to Zenit after a failed loan move.

Aston Villa forward Marco Asensio is another star name for Forest to look out for, while Pereira will also be reunited with Nelson Semedo, who he coached at Wolves.

Fener have not been particularly great in attack in the Europa League this term, netting just 10 times from 12.2 xG, despite having the joint-sixth most shots in the competition (121, level with Porto).

Defensively, Fener have managed to keep things tight. They have kept three clean sheets and, like Forest, have conceded only seven goals, from 9.4 xGA.

But winning the first leg could well be crucial for Fener.

They have lost the first leg in four of their last six major European knockout ties (W2). In fact, they have never progressed from a major European tie when they have lost the first leg, going out on all 26 occasions.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Fenerbahce – Anderson Talisca

Fener may not have been free scorers in the Europa League this season, but Anderson Talisca has been responsible for four of their 10 goals.

The Brazilian has outperformed his 2.8 xG, while only one player – Ludogorets' Caio Vidal (25) – has had more shots in the competition this term than Anderson Talisca's 24.

Nottingham Forest – Igor Jesus

As they always seem to be, Forest were busy in the transfer window, with striker Lorenzo Lucca – an ideal Dyche target man – brought in to support Igor Jesus.

Jesus' best performances have come in Europe, though. He has scored six goals in the Europa League, the joint most by a Forest player in a major European season, along with Garry Birtles in the 1978-79 European Cup (six in nine games).

The last Brazilian to score more in a Europa League campaign was Giuliano for Zenit in 2016-17 (eight).