Home / Football / Premier League News Brighton vs Nottingham Forest: Vitor Pereira on big problem for Premier League strugglers Nottingham Forest lost at Brighton in the Premier League Written by Ben Miller Last Update: March 1, 2026 07:33:10 pm GMT 5 min read New Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira says his tired players had a very difficult first half because of tactical mistakes in their 2-1 defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League on Sunday. Forest have lost three matches in a row in all competitions since Pereiras opening win at Fenerbahce in the Europa League, trading three goals in the opening 15 minutes at the Amex Stadium.Morgan Gibbs-Whites 13th-minute strike drew Forest level for two minutes before Danny Welbeck hit the winner for Brighton, who went ahead through Diego Gomez and left the fourth-bottom side two points above West Ham.Table of Contents1 Forest tactics: Pereira reveals pressing problem2 Why is Pereira unhappy with Forests press?3 Nottingham Forest team vs Brighton4 Brighton vs Nottingham Forest5 Whats next for Forest and Brighton? Fixtures, schedule6 How many managers have Forest had this season?Forest tactics: Pereira reveals pressing problemTo press in the way we want to press, we need energy, said the Portuguese, speaking three days after Forest lost at home to Fenerbahce in the Europa League but reached the last 16 on aggregate.We tried to press as if we had a full tank of energy, pressing and pressing to win the ball as soon as possible.What we learned from the first half is about the trigger to press together. We started the game by conceding space that we cannot afford against these kinds of teams: between the lines, on opposite sides.They pressed us and we didnt find the proper spaces. We adjusted the system in the second half, controlling the spaces out wide and inside.We need to learn from the first half and take the good things from the second half. If we play without energy and you open the game to a full pitch, its a big problem. You will make mistakes and [opponents] will have chances.Here are Forests results under Pereira.DateCompetitionOpponentsH/AResultFeb 19Europa League knockout phase play-off first legFenerbahceAway3-0Feb 22Premier LeagueLiverpoolHome0-1Feb 26Europa League second legFenerbahceHome1-2Mar 1Premier LeagueBrightonAway1-2Why is Pereira unhappy with Forests press?Pereira played with a strict back three and implemented a mid block on his way to reviving Wolves fortunes last season, with his team waiting for opponents to provoke them to press and then attempting to take possession.The 57-year-old instructs his players on a box in the half space in the middle of the pitch where creative players link defence and attack.We need to have a tactical culture to understand the proper times to press and wait, go fast and keep the ball, said Pereira, reiterating one of the key aspects of his approach.Im very happy with my players because they try. I must believe that, with our help to organise and show them the way we must play against this time of team, they have the spirit. I cant say that we were not trying to win the game, especially in the second half.Gibbs-White and striker Igor Jesus were among the players initially rested by Pereira on Thursday. If I hadnt made changes in the last game, imagine today, he suggested.Forest face a daunting-looking trip to Manchester City next as part of a run of five matches in three weeks.We cannot be thinking about the future [beyond City], because we do not know what will happen, warned Pereira.The future is against City. Well try to have more than one system. Without full energy, we need to be compact and try to be organised.After playing for 90 minutes every three days, we start to make individual mistakes.Nottingham Forest team vs BrightonForest starting XI: Matz Sels, Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Neco Williams, Ibrahim Sangare, Elliot Anderson, Omari Hutchinson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor JesusSubstitutes: Angus Gunn, Taiwo Awoniyi, Dan Ndoye, Nicolas Dominguez, Ryan Yates, Jair Cunha, James McAtee, Luca Netz, Dilane BakwaBrighton vs Nottingham ForestBrighton starting XI: Bart Verbruggen, Mats Wieffer, Jan Paul van Hecke, Lewis Dunk, Ferdi Kadioglu, James Milner, Pascal Gross, Diego Gomez, Jack Hinshelwood, Kaoru Mitoma, Danny WelbeckSubstitutes: Jason Steele, Solly March, Georginio Rutter, Yankuba Minteh, Carlos Baleba, Charalampos Kostoulas, Olivier Boscagli, Maxim De Cuyper, Joel VeltmanWhats next for Forest and Brighton? Fixtures, scheduleThese teams take on the top two next, with Forest travelling to second-placed City and Brighton hosting leaders Arsenal. Times are GMT.TeamNext fixtureDateKick-off timeForestMan City (A)Wednesday, March 419:30BrightonArsenal (H)Wednesday, March 419:30How many managers have Forest had this season?Forest started the season under Nuno Espirito Santo, who guided them to contention for Champions League qualification last season.They finished seventh and are in the Europa League because Crystal Palace were demoted to the Conference League after the Court of Arbitration for Sport upheld a UEFA ruling over a breach of multi-club ownership rules.Santo, who has since taken over at West Ham, was sacked in September after 21 months in charge following a disagreement with Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis.Former Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou then took charge for the shortest-ever managerial reign at Forest, lasting 39 days and failing to win any of his eight matches.Ex-Everton head coach Dyche succeeded Postecoglou in October and achieved the highest win percentage of any of Marinakis nine managers since his takeover in 2017, including qualification for the Europa League knockout round play-offs.Forest were ninth in the form table over six matches when Dyche departed after 114 days, with the final straw for Marinakis a 0-0 draw at home to bottom side Wolves on Wednesday in which they failed to score from 35 attempts at goal the most by a Dyche team in the Premier League. Topics: Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. Danny Welbeck Nottingham Forest F.C. Premier League Vitor Pereira Follow us: Ben Miller Ben has more than 10 years' experience in sports journalism, covering two EURO tournaments, European club competitions, the Premier League, EFL and WSL and a variety of other major sporting events. Read more from Ben Miller
