Oliver Glasner is a man who prefers to talk about mentality and ideology more than formations. His Crystal Palace side was built around everyone perfectly understanding what was expected of them.
In a similar fashion to Nuno Espirito Santo, success was garnered from everyone being on the same page. How Glasner’s Palace team played, how they interacted with each other and functioned as a unit was always more important than the Palace utilised. The Austrian was often reluctant to even discuss formation.
But that does not change the fact that, amid the changes the 51-year-old is likely to implement at the City Ground, one of them will be a change to a back three. Which raises an obvious but important question: How much adaptation will that require from a squad of players that is very much used to a back four?
Since Steve Cooper departed in December 2023, the last four men to have taken charge at Forest have all largely been wedded to a back four. But, despite that, it should not be something entirely new to this group of players.
Nuno would regularly utilise a back three, but largely as a tool to see out games. During the 2024-2025 season when Forest claimed a seventh-placed finish, Nuno’s habit of introducing another central defender, in the form of Morato, off the bench to help his side get over the finishing line with a switch in formation, was the most frequently utilised change by any manager in the top flight.
But under Glasner, a back three is very likely to be Plan A. Talk to those who watch Palace regularly, and they will tell you that it was his preferred option in 99 per cent of games.
That does not have to be a bad thing.
For Morato — a player who has seen 27 of his 47 Premier League appearances for the club come off the bench — it might represent an opportunity. Morato started the last four Premier League games — as well as both legs of the Europa League semi-final against Aston Villa — when Murillo was sidelined with injury. He produced some assured performances in the absence of his fellow Brazilian.
He is one of several possible options Glasner will have to play alongside Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic, who have established themselves as one of the most formidable defensive partnerships in the top flight. Morato is also a slightly different brand of defender to Murillo and Milenkovic, bringing his own set of qualities to the table.
Morato is also a ball-playing defender, somebody capable of carrying the ball out from the back.
Milenkovic is a reactive, almost old-school defender, while Murillo has more confidence on the ball and is a proactive figure in the back four — qualities that have helped them forge an effective partnership.
Former Manchester United, Southampton and Stoke defender Danny Higginbotham — who spent time on loan with Forest in 2012 — believes Glasner has inherited a squad packed with flexibility.
“I covered his first game for Palace (as a television pundit). He replaced Roy Hodgson, who was very rigid in playing with a back four — but Glasner came straight in and changed it, no messing around,” Higginbotham tells The Athletic. “But it was not an issue for Palace’s players, and I don’t think it will be for Forest’s either.
“In modern football, formations don’t really matter as much. The system might be a 4-2-3-1, but that can change dramatically depending on the situation. When you play a back four, look at the number of times a defensive midfielder will drop in to allow the full backs to push on. You are basically playing with a back three, then, aren’t you?
“Glasner will absolutely play with a back three, but it is not the change that it used to be. The game and systems are so much more fluid; teams generally play several systems in the space of a game.
“What is important is that at least one of your central defenders is willing to step into midfield, because so many opposition sides will play with only one striker. There is a danger that you can get overloaded in other areas of the pitch if you do not have a defender who will push on — but that is one of Murillo’s strengths.
“So it is an approach that could work for him and for Forest. Glasner will have done his homework and will be thinking that he can play a back three with no problem at all with this squad — and I think he is right.”
Forest have players who are comfortable playing in different roles. Both Neco Williams and Ola Aina have operated — albeit in only short spells of games — as central defenders in a back three. While Morato, Jair Cunha and Zach Abbott can play as full-backs, as well as in the middle. Nicolo Savona can play as a full-back or in the centre. Luca Netz can operate as a full-back or wing-back.
“When you go into a back three, the outside centre-backs have to be comfortable moving slightly wider. If they are not, you get into a whole world of trouble,” says Higginbotham. “The middle man has to be the communicator, the organiser. But Forest have that in Milenkovic.
“Milenkovic and Murillo have an established partnership, but I do not think it will be difficult for them. Murillo basically plays as an outside central defender anyway. Aina and Williams will both make great wing-backs, because they have those attacking instincts anyway. You need the attacking width to come from your wing-backs, but they can provide that.”
Forest hope to sign a central defender this summer. But they already have other options. Forest also hold Brazilian youngster Jair Cunha in high regard. He had numerous moments of great promise last season, following his move from Botafogo, even if he, understandably, also had moments when his lack of top-flight experience was evident. He can also operate on either side of the back three.
Abbott, the academy product, is a young man who was trusted by all four of Forest’s previous managers, with Nuno giving him an opportunity in the FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City in 2025. The 20-year-old has still only made nine first-team starts and three substitute appearances, however.
Forest also have Tyler Bindon, the New Zealand international, with the 21-year-old set to return from a loan spell at Sheffield United, where he made 21 Championship appearances. It remains to be seen whether he will depart on loan again to gain more experience.
Glasner likes his teams to play with a back three in possession and with a back five when they are not. But it is patterns of play that are important to him, rather than having rigid, set positions.
Like Cooper and Nuno before him, his style of play can often see his sides have less possession but hurt the opposition with rapid transitions. So while there might be change, much could also feel familiar if Glasner can inspire success with explosive counter-attacking football.
