Nottingham Forest ended last season with real purpose. Three wins, a draw and a defeat in their run-in — that is the profile of a side that knows how to grind out results when it matters. They are not a team that blows you away; they suffocate you, nick a goal, and then make the game ugly. At the City Ground, with that Trent End roar behind them, Forest become a different animal entirely. The predicted XI — John Victor in goal, a back four of Abbott, Jair Cunha, Netz and Morato, with da Silva Moreira and Schlager sitting in that double pivot — tells you everything about how they want to play. Solid, compact, and dangerous on the break.

Leeds, though, arrive with serious momentum of their own. Unbeaten in their final five games of last season, they then went and dismantled FC Augsburg 4-0 in their final pre-season friendly. That is a front line firing on all cylinders. They also battled to a 1-1 draw with Manchester United in midweek, which suggests they are not fazed by big occasions. But here is the thing — this is a curtain-raiser, the first game of a new Premier League season, and those are notoriously tight. Both sides are sharp, both are confident, and the brief itself tells us this is likely to be shaped by moments in the box rather than one team dominating. That is exactly the kind of game Forest thrive in.