Oliver Glasner has been handed a huge injury boost ahead of Nottingham Forest's trip to Ipswich Town on Friday, with captain Morgan Gibbs-White available for selection. 

Gibbs-White was absent from Forest's narrow 1-0 defeat to Premier League champions Arsenal last weekend, having sustained a knock against Crystal Palace the week before. 

The England international has been a key figure for Glasner's side so far this season, scoring one goal and providing two assists in six league appearances for the Tricky Trees. 

His return comes at a crucial time for Forest, who find themselves 19th in the Premier League ahead of making the trip to Portman Road to face Gary O'Neil's Ipswich. 

And while Glasner welcomed the return of the Forest captain, he said that Gibbs-White cannot win games by himself, adding he will need all of his players to chip in. 

"He's ready, he trained the entire week, so there are no issues," Glasner said. "[Nikola] Milenkovic was already on the bench and is ready to start and play.

"It's just Igor [Jesus] and [Nicolo] Savona who can't be involved in the matchday squad, but all the others are fine and fit.

"Of course, when your captain is available, it's important. It's someone who can create chances and score goals himself.

"That's positive, but I think you could also see that without Morgan Gibbs-White, we had a very competitive team against the champions.

"This gives us confidence because we lost without Morgan and with Morgan. He's an important part, but he can't win the game alone, so we need a top team performance, but it's good to have him back."

Focus turns to Friday night. https://t.co/bKMXD7HuEs

— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) October 20, 2026

Ipswich, meanwhile, have enjoyed a strong start to life back in the Premier League, and they gave a good account of themselves despite going down 3-2 to Manchester City. 

Phil Foden's opener was cancelled out by Daizen Maeda, but goals either side of half-time from the in-form Erling Haaland proved to be decisive for the league leaders. 

Zian Flemming tucked home a late penalty, but Ipswich have lost nine of their last 10 top-flight away games in the North West (D1), since a 2-1 win at Everton in February 2002.

But Ipswich captain Dara O'Shea credited his team for their battling display, but he acknowledged that the Tractor Boys need to get points on the board quickly. 

"Disappointed not to come away with a point," O'Shea said after the defeat to City. "The aim was to come here and cause them problems and get points, but it wasn't the case.

"For how we played, especially at the end, we felt we were the team that was pushing. We know City's qualities.

"A lot has happened since the last time we were in the league, a lot of different players, there's a lot of confidence. We're giving ourselves a great platform to score goals in games.

"Massive belief, definitely one of the characteristics of the group. When you have success late in games, we know we have that. We want to get points on the board as quickly as possible. As long as we're pushing at the end of the game."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Ipswich Town – Zian Flemming

Flemming has scored four goals in seven league appearances this season (two for Burnley, two for Ipswich).

His next goal will be his 50th in English league football, and he will fancy his chances against Forest, having already scored against them once in the Premier League.

Zian's second goal for Town. https://t.co/eRB81mBOQI

— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) October 18, 2026

Nottingham Forest – Liam Delap

Delap was Ipswich's top scorer in their last Premier League campaign of 2024-25, but after a difficult spell at Chelsea, he is still finding his feet under Oliver Glasner at Forest.

Having scored with his third shot for Forest this term, Delap has since had 15 attempts without success, including a glaring miss against Crystal Palace. 

MATCH PREDICTION: IPSWICH TOWN WIN

Ipswich won their first two Premier League games against Forest in the 1992-93 season, but they have since lost all four against the Tricky Trees in 1994-95 and 2024-25.

The Tractor Boys have, however, won two of their three Premier League home games this season (L1), as many as in their previous 25 at Portman Road (D6 L17). They are looking to win consecutive top-flight home games for the first time since a run of four between December and January 2001-02.

And they have made a habit of leaving things late. Ipswich have scored five 90th-minute goals (including stoppage time) in the Premier League this season, more than any other side. All three of their wins this term have come courtesy of 90th-minute strikes.

Forest, meanwhile, have lost their last three Premier League games, more than they had in their previous 14 (W5 D7 L2). They have also failed to score in four different top-flight games this season, with no side drawing a blank more often.

Glasner's side rank seventh for expected goals in the Premier League this season (11.2) but have scored just five times. It's the biggest xG underperformance of any side in the competition this term (-6.2).

But Forest did win 4-2 on their last trip to Portman Road in 2024-25, though they have not won consecutive league visits to Ipswich since beating them in 2010-11 and 2011-12 in the Championship.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Ipswich Town – 43.2%

Draw – 26.7%

Nottingham Forest – 30.1%