Oliver Glasner outlines major Leeds United strength in warning to Nottingham Forest squad

New Nottingham Forest boss Oliver Glasner expects Leeds United to provide a physical test with heavy focus on set-pieces this weekend.

Leeds get their 2026/27 Premier League campaign underway at the City Ground on Saturday and head into it in good form. The Whites beat Augsburg 4-0 in their final pre-season friendly over the weekend, a fourth victory from six friendlies.

Forest won back-to-back games last week against Bayer Leverkusen and Brest, the latter a 2-0 victory on Sunday afternoon. And Glasner, who left Crystal Palace to take charge of Forest in the summer, insists confidence is high ahead of the new campaign.

“It’s always best to end pre-season with a win, it only helps with the confidence,” Glasner said on Sunday. “We’ve had a good week with the win against Bayer Leverkusen as well but it’s not just the wins, it’s the performances.

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“I can see we’re getting a better structure and we’ll keep communicating with the players. The Premier League will start, and things will be different of course but it’s good for us to end pre-season with a win.”

But the Premier League is set to provide a more stern test and Leeds are set to be among the most physical sides in the division. As Palace boss last season, Glasner is all too familiar with the threat his weekend opponents can pose from set-pieces.

Leeds won 4-1 at home to Palace in December last year, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin twice sneaking in at the back post to bury a flicked on long Ethan Ampadu throw-in. The Whites scored again from a similar scenario on Saturday and have continued to lean on set-pieces throughout pre-season.

“We scored some good goals from dangerous positions, and we didn’t really give them any chances,” Glasner added. “There are many encouraging signs. It will be more physical against Leeds with more set-pieces and that is an area they’re very good in.”

Leeds have profited from set-pieces throughout pre-season, too. Like against Palace last year, Calvert-Lewin scored from a pair of long throw-ins in a 4-2 win over Liverpool while an Ampadu touchline launch preceded Tarik Muharemovic’s bicycle kick against Augsburg on Saturday.