Ange Postecoglou is still awaiting his first victory as Nottingham Forest boss after the Tricky Trees drew 1-1 with Burnley on Saturday.
Forest, so good at the back last season, are also still searching for their first clean sheet of 2025/26.
Here’s what we saw at Turf Moor.
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MURILLO LATEST
Postecoglou hinted in Friday’s press conference that he wouldn’t risk Murillo (£5.4m) on Saturday and so it transpired, with the centre-half not even in the squad.
The good news for Murillo’s owners is that he should be fit for Wednesday’s UEFA Europa League clash with Real Betis, let alone the Gameweek 6 visit of Sunderland.
“He should be OK for Wednesday. He was close [to being involved] but it makes no sense risking players.
“I’ve been really happy with Morato at centre-back. He’s done well. I thought he stood up.
“The good thing is we have got competition for places, and that’s what we need. But the medical team tell me he should be ready for Wednesday.” – Ange Postecoglou on Murillo, via Nottingham Live
(SLIGHTLY) HIGHER LINE, SIGNS OF ANGE-BALL

On the face of it, a 1-1 draw with Burnley is not the sort of result to get the sceptics on side.
But there were actually some encouraging signs from this match, at least from an attacking perspective. Forest had 17 shots, the second-most of any team in Gameweek 6, and no team had more efforts on target (eight) at the weekend.
But for an inspired Martin Dubravka (£4.0m), Forest probably should have won this game, despite the xG being relatively close. The Burnley ‘keeper pulled off excellent stops to deny Dilane Bakwa (£6.0m), Igor Jesus (£5.8m) and Neco Williams (£5.0m), while Chris Wood (£7.6m) and Arnaud Kalimuendo (£6.0m) both wasted big chances – the former shooting tamely at Dubravka from yards and the latter seeing a goalbound effort blocked with Dubravka beaten.
Elliot Anderson (£5.5m) not only collected DefCon points but also should have had an assist, having teed up those aforemetioned efforts for Jesus and Williams.
The ‘inverted full-backs’ tactic, something Postecoglou loved doing at Spurs, was on show, too. Williams and Oleksandr Zinchenko (£4.9m) both had three shots apiece, drifting centrally into threatening positions – although it should be said that the former’s goal came from a set-piece.

And the feared higher line was partially in evidence, albeit not as cavalier as we’d seen at Spurs. Morato (£4.4m) and Nikola Milenkovic (£5.5m) both stepped forward at times, the latter playing a lovely one-two around the edge of the Burnley box to tee up Wood.
The defence definitely remains a work in progress (it wasn’t on song even before Postecoglou arrived), especially with the full-backs inverting. Zinchenko’s defending is questionable, and the backline needing to adjust to a new way of thinking. Burnley racked up a dozen shots of their own, although seven were from set plays.
WOOD ON BORROWED TIME?
Wood could and should have done better with his two chances, eventually being hooked after 75 minutes. Jesus, up top, and Kalimuendo, on the right, looked livelier upon their introductions.
Postecoglou hailed the impact of his substitutes in Gameweek 5, and you do wonder how long before one of those two alternatives gets the nod in the Premier League.
“I was disappointed with the guys who came on on Wednesday night. I felt they could have impacted the game more; certainly not today. I think the guys understood the messages from Wednesday night and they went on today and wanted to make an impact and they did. Both Callum [Hudson-Odoi] and Igor [Jesus] could have scored and Callum, I thought, was really bright.” – Ange Postecoglou
If Wood starts against Real Betis in midweek, you do wonder about his minutes against Sunderland next weekend.
ANTHONY GOING UNDER THE RADAR
This was yet another creditable performance from Burnley, who ran Liverpool and Manchester United close in the previous two Gameweeks.
There was some dogged if not entirely watertight defending, while Dubravka has been excellent since his arrival. Popular bench fodder option Maxime Esteve (£4.0m) collected DefCon points for the second time this season, and Josh Cullen (£5.0m) did so for the third time.
Further forward, Jaidon Anthony (£5.5m) continues to confound expectations.
He’s now FPL’s second-highest-scoring midfielder, having bagged three goals and an assist already this season. His latest strike came on Saturday.
There are underlying numbers to back this up, too – he ranks second among midfielders for NPxGI in 2025/26:

Scott Parker’s set-up certainly helps. Quilindschy Hartman (£4.0m) provides all the width, with Anthony playing much more like a second striker alongside Lyle Foster (£5.0m).

Anthony had three efforts on Saturday, going close to scoring again in the second half, and has now had nearly three times as many shots (11) as the next-best Burnley player (four).

