Nottingham Forest travel to the Netherlands on Thursday needing a response after their heavy defeat to Everton on the weekend.
Sean Dyche’s side could not match Everton’s intensity, and the challenge now is to secure the points they need to strengthen their bid for Europa League qualification.
Forest remain within reach of the top-eight positions in the league phase, yet recent domestic results have raised concerns about momentum slipping at a crucial stage of the campaign.
They have lost two of their last three league matches and cannot afford another flat display, especially with the group picture tightening and every point carrying weight.
Thursday’s fixture offers an opportunity because FC Utrecht have endured a miserable European campaign. They are still searching for their first win after five matches.
The Dutch side have collected only one point, but that record also brings a level of threat because a team desperate to revive their campaign can be unpredictable at home.
Utrecht have been competitive in patches and drew with Porto on home soil. With their own supporters urging them on, they will view Forest’s visit as a possible turning point.
They have also gone six home matches without defeat in domestic and European competition, and that resilience makes them more dangerous than their league-phase position suggests.
Forest must treat the match with the seriousness it demands, and Dyche will expect greater organisation and physical commitment than was shown on Saturday.
The Europa League performances under Dyche have been far steadier than their domestic form, and they are yet to concede in the competition since he took charge.
They sit on eight points from five games, and a victory in Utrecht would place them in a stronger position ahead of the final fixtures against Braga and Ferencvaros.
Forest know they cannot allow the setbacks of recent weeks to influence their approach, and if they reproduce the control and discipline shown earlier in the league phase, the task should be achievable.
A composed and purposeful performance would move Forest closer to the last-16, and Dyche will demand that the Everton defeat is a one-off rather than the start of a worrying pattern.
