Four days, two trips to Nottingham. The Leeds United Carabao Cup tie at the City Ground on Tuesday night arrives with the ink barely dry on Anton Stach’s 88th-minute free-kick, and it lands with a familiar late-August question attached: who is actually fit enough to play in it? The Whites won 1-0 at Forest in Saturday’s 3pm Premier League opener. They are back in Nottingham for an 8pm kick-off in the second round of the EFL Cup — same ground, different competition, and in all likelihood a substantially different starting eleven.
The Yorkshire Evening Post’s early injury round-up across both camps counts four doubts and one definite absentee, with three players now back in contention. Neither Daniel Farke nor Oliver Glasner had a full squad to pick from on Saturday, and neither is likely to have one on Tuesday. With the transfer window open until 1 September and a long Premier League season to pace, the temptation to rotate is obvious for both.
Leeds United Carabao Cup team news: the Whites’ doubts
The one Leeds absence already established is Gabriel Gudmundsson. The left-sided defender has been nursing a muscular problem since mid-August, with roughly a four-week timeline attached to it, and he sat out the opener — a big reason James Justin started at left wing-back at the City Ground, with Jayden Bogle on the opposite flank. Nothing in the current picture suggests a rush back for a second-round cup tie.
The YEP’s combined list also takes in Willy Gnonto, Ilia Gruev and Lucas Perri on the Leeds side. Perri’s situation is the one worth watching for reasons beyond fitness: he moved off the No.1 shirt when James Trafford arrived, and the YEP has reported that the Brazilian is expected to depart before the window shuts. Alex Cairns, re-signed this summer, is the other senior option if Farke wants to protect his new goalkeeper.
There is opportunity in all this, too. Nico Elvedi, the initial £6.8m signing from Borussia Mönchengladbach, was an unused substitute on Saturday and is still waiting on his first Leeds minutes. Noah Okafor did not start either. A midweek cup tie is exactly where minutes like those get handed out.
Forest’s problems: Savona out, Yates and Hutchinson in the balance
The one confirmed absentee is Forest defender Nicolò Savona, who had knee surgery in March and has since suffered a setback. “We thought he would be further than where he is now,” Glasner said. “He had a minor setback after his knee reacted more with the load than we wanted. We had to take a step back, so he’s working in the gym again and working on his knee to get back on the grass. I think it will take a couple of weeks.”
Captain Ryan Yates is a doubt. He missed Forest’s final pre-season friendly against Brest and, as Glasner confirmed at his pre-match press conference, sat out Saturday’s visit of Leeds; the issue is thought to be a minor one, but whether that is enough to get him back for Tuesday is unclear. Winger Omari Hutchinson is the other name in the balance — he missed much of pre-season, returned as a second-half substitute against Brest, and was then absent from the matchday squad.
What Tuesday actually means
Context matters for the hosts. Glasner is Forest’s fifth head coach in under 12 months and Saturday was his first competitive game in charge — a home defeat by a Leeds side that defended its box for 88 minutes and then won the thing with a set-piece. He will want a response, and a cup tie against the same opponent four days later is the fastest route to one.
For Leeds, this is a low-risk night with something real attached. The away win is already banked, so Tuesday is about squad depth, minutes for the players who watched from the bench and a cup run worth having. Farke has never been shy about reshuffling in the EFL Cup. Expect changes, a few less familiar names, and a City Ground that feels very different at 8pm to how it did at 3pm on Saturday.
