Udinese Calcio - Nottingham Forest live - Football

Udinese Calcio take on Nottingham Forest on Saturday, 8 August 2026, at 19:00 BST at the Dacia Arena in Udine, Italy, in the opening match of the inaugural Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup. The two clubs have no documented competitive history against each other, making this a genuine first encounter. Udinese arrive without a win in their five pre-season outings, while Forest head to Italy in far better shape - three wins in five friendlies under new head coach Oliver Glasner.

Match Info: Udinese Calcio vs Nottingham Forest

The clash between Udinese and Nottingham Forest kicks off on 8 August 2026 at 19:00 BST (18:00 UTC) at the Dacia Arena in Udine, Italy. The fixture forms part of the inaugural Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup, a three-team triangular tournament played in a round-robin format, with each match lasting 45 minutes; FC Barcelona are the third participant in the event.

Where to Watch Udinese Calcio vs Nottingham Forest?

English fans can follow the action through Forest TV, Nottingham Forest's official streaming channel. It is the only confirmed broadcast option for viewers in England, offering the most direct way to watch Oliver Glasner's side in action on Italian soil.

Italian supporters are well catered for, with the match available on Sky Sport Uno and TV8 on television, as well as through NOW TV and Sky Go Italia online. American fans can choose between CBS Sports Golazo on TV or Paramount+ for streaming. Viewers in Denmark have two options: TV2 Sport X on television and TV2 Play online.

Elsewhere, Australian and New Zealand fans can stream the game on beIN Sports Connect. Portugal's Sport TV4 carries the match on linear TV, with Sport TV Multiscreen for online viewers. Russia is covered by Match! Football 1 on TV and Sportbox.ru online, while Bulgaria has MAX Sport 3, Israel Sport 3, and Romania Digi Sport 2.

Match between Udinese Calcio and Nottingham Forest - Preview

The meeting of Udinese Calcio and Nottingham Forest at the Dacia Arena opens the brand-new Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup - a triangular pre-season event organised by Udinese in collaboration with the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, with FC Barcelona completing the three-team lineup. Each match lasts 45 minutes, and if level at the end of normal time, a penalty shootout determines the winner.

For Udinese, this fixture is a chance to impress in front of their own fans after a difficult pre-season run. The Italians are yet to win any of their five warm-up matches and head into the tournament under pressure to show improvement before the Serie A campaign gets underway. Head coach will be eager to use the 45-minute format to test combinations and build momentum.

Forest arrive at the Dacia Arena on the back of a productive summer, with three pre-season victories already behind them. New boss Oliver Glasner - appointed after leaving Crystal Palace at the end of the 2025/26 season - is settling in quickly, and the trip to Udine gives him further time to shape his squad before the Premier League campaign opens on 22 August at home against Leeds United.

Head-to-Head: Udinese Calcio vs Nottingham Forest

Udinese Calcio and Nottingham Forest have rarely, if ever, crossed paths in competitive football - the two clubs operate in entirely separate national leagues and have no shared European history on record. The August 2026 fixture at the Dacia Arena represents what is, in all likelihood, a first meaningful encounter between these two historic clubs.

No complete head-to-head data from prior competitive or recorded friendly matches is publicly available for this fixture. The Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup therefore marks the beginning of a new footballing relationship between the Italian Serie A side and the English Premier League club.

Udinese Calcio - Recent Form

Udinese head into the Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup without a pre-season win from five attempts - a run of results that will concern the club's coaching staff ahead of a new Serie A campaign beginning in late August.

The Italians opened their summer schedule with a 2-2 draw against NK Istra 1961 in mid-July, then lost 0-2 to Swansea City and 1-2 to Shabab Al Ahli Dubai. A 3-3 draw with Bundesliga side FSV Mainz 05 showed attacking intent, but the conceding of three goals again highlighted defensive frailty. The pre-season run closed - before the Udine tournament - with a 0-1 defeat to Trabzonspor. Across five matches, Udinese scored 7 goals and conceded 10.

Pre-season results are not always a reliable indicator of a team's shape - squads are typically rotating and experimenting. Still, a winless pre-season ahead of a home tournament against high-profile opponents like Forest and Barcelona creates additional pressure on the hosts to respond on the pitch.

Nottingham Forest - Recent Form

Nottingham Forest arrive in Udine having won 3 of their 5 pre-season matches, offering an encouraging early sign of Oliver Glasner's imprint on the squad heading into their fifth consecutive Premier League season.

Forest's summer began with back-to-back wins: 2-0 over local rivals Notts County and a 3-0 victory against Blackburn Rovers, keeping a clean sheet in both. A 1-1 draw with Vitória Guimarães was followed by a 2-1 win over Portimonense, both during the Portuguese training camp. The final warm-up fixture before Udine, however, ended in a 1-4 loss to Sporting CP - a sharp reminder that there is still defensive work to be done.

Overall across five friendlies, Forest have netted 9 goals and conceded 7. The attacking numbers are encouraging, and Glasner will be hoping his side tightens up defensively as the season approaches. The Premier League opener against Leeds United on 22 August will arrive quickly after the Udine tournament wraps up.

Facts and Statistics

Udinese Calcio and Nottingham Forest are two clubs with proud domestic and European pedigrees, yet their paths have seldom - if ever - intersected on the football pitch before this summer. The Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup in August 2026 represents a genuinely novel encounter between two of Europe's more storied clubs.

• The Friuli Venezia Giulia Cup is a brand-new triangular tournament, with its inaugural edition held at the Dacia Arena in Udine on 8 August 2026, featuring Udinese, Nottingham Forest and FC Barcelona in round-robin format.
• Nottingham Forest are two-time European champions, having lifted the European Cup in both 1979 and 1980 under legendary manager Brian Clough - one of English football's most remarkable achievements.
• The 2026/27 campaign represents Forest's fifth consecutive season in the Premier League, a spell of top-flight continuity the club had not enjoyed since the 1990s.
• Udinese Calcio, founded in 1896, are one of Serie A's most enduring clubs, with a history stretching over a century in Italian football's top division and several UEFA competition appearances.
• Forest's new head coach Oliver Glasner previously managed Crystal Palace in the Premier League; his appointment at Nottingham Forest ahead of 2026/27 followed the mutual departure of Vítor Pereira.