Leicester City F.C.–Nottingham Forest F.C. rivalry
Association football rivalry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The fixture between Nottingham Forest and Leicester City is a football rivalry played between the two East Midlands clubs, often referred to as an East Midlands derby.[1][2] There have been a total of 111 meetings dating back to 1901 as of 11 May 2025.[3]
FA Cup
Nottingham Forest 5–1 Leicester Fosse
| Other names | East Midlands derby |
|---|---|
| Location | Leicester/Nottingham (England) |
| Teams | Leicester City Nottingham Forest |
| First meeting | 9 February 1901 FA Cup Nottingham Forest 5–1 Leicester Fosse |
| Latest meeting | 11 May 2025 Premier League Nottingham Forest 2–2 Leicester City |
| Statistics | |
| Meetings total | 111 |
| Most wins | Nottingham Forest (42) |
| All-time series | Leicester City: 41 Draw: 28 Nottingham Forest: 42 |
| Largest victory | 21 April 1909 First Division Nottingham Forest 12–0 Leicester Fosse |
  Leicester City  Nottingham Forest | |
Though Forest are closer in proximity to both Notts County and Derby County, and Leicester's nearest club is Coventry City, the clubs represent the two largest cities in the East Midlands.
Notable games
One match that remains Leicester City's worst defeat and Nottingham Forest's record league win is the 12–0 result at the City Ground on 21 April 1909, when Leicester was known as Leicester Fosse. The performance by Fosse players was so appalling that The Football League ordered an inquiry, although no further action was taken after it turned out several of the already relegated Leicester side were hungover from a player's wedding the night before.[4]
On 18 September 2007, Nottingham Forest was given a 'free goal' by Leicester City in a League Cup match at the City Ground.[5] It was a rescheduled match after their original meeting on 28 August, which Forest were leading 1–0, was abandoned due to Leicester player Clive Clarke collapsing in the dressing room at half-time.[6] Leicester nonetheless won the match 3–2.[7]
To date, there have been nine hat-tricks recorded in fixtures between the two clubs, of which seven are from Nottingham Forest. Of the seven, three of those hat-tricks came from the 12–0 mauling of Leicester Fosse in 1909.[4] Forest's most recent hat-trick against Leicester was from Robert Earnshaw in December 2009.[8] In November 1948, Don Revie became the first Leicester player to score a hat-trick against Forest,[9] a feat matched by Jermaine Beckford in a 4–0 FA Cup win on 17 January 2012.[10]
A notable game between the sides in recent history happened on 4 May 2013, the final day of the 2012–13 Football League Championship season, with both sides having a chance of making the promotion play-offs with a win. Forest took an early lead through Simon Cox, but the score was 2–2 at halftime, a scoreline that remained until late into injury time when Anthony Knockaert gave Leicester a first league win at the City Ground since 1972, sending Leicester into the playoffs.[11]
On 3 October 2022, Leicester and Forest met for the first time in the top flight of English football for 23 years, with the sides 20th and 19th respectively. Leicester won the game 4–0, but Forest won the return match 2–0 on 15 January 2023.
Honours, head to head, and statistics
Honours
- As of 7 August 2021
| Team | League | FA Cup | League Cup | FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield | European Cup/UEFA Champions League | European Super Cup/UEFA Super Cup | Total trophies |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leicester City | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Nottingham Forest | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| Total | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 18 |
Head-to-head
- As of 11 May 2025
The table below demonstrates the competitive match results between the two sides.[12]
| Competition | Leicester City wins | Draws | Nottingham Forest wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| League | 39 | 26 | 39 |
| FA Cup | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| League Cup | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Total | 41 | 28 | 42 |
Crossing the divide
Players
The list below shows transfer dates and fees, where known.
Leicester City then Nottingham Forest
- Andy Impey – May 2004, free transfer
- Yohan Benalouane – January 2019, undisclosed fee
- Ben Hamer – July 2015, loan
The following played for one or more teams before moving to Nottingham Forest:
- Matt Mills – Played for Bolton Wanderers in between
- Matty Fryatt – Played for Hull City and Sheffield Wednesday in between
- Lee Peltier – Played for Forest on loan from Leeds United
- Jack Hobbs – Played for Hull City in between
- Neil Lennon – Played for Celtic in between
- John Curtis – Played for Portsmouth in between
- Peter Shilton – Played for Stoke City in between
- Molla Wagué – Played for Udinese and Watford before joining Forest on loan in 2019
- Anthony Knockaert – Joined Forest on loan from Fulham in 2020
- Jesse Lingard – Played for five different clubs in between a loan with Leicester City and a free transfer to Nottingham Forest
- Chris Wood – Played for Leeds United, Burnley and Newcastle United in between
Nottingham Forest then Leicester City
- Wes Morgan – January 2012, £1,000,000
- Paul Konchesky – July 2011, undisclosed amount. Played for Forest on loan from Liverpool, then joined Leicester at the end of the loan spell
- Gareth Williams – July 2004, £500,000
- Riccardo Scimeca – June 2003, free transfer
- Nicky Summerbee – August 2002, free transfer
- Alan Rogers – November 2001, £300,000. Returned to Forest in 2004
- Kjetil Osvold – April 1987, loan
The following played for one or more teams before moving to Leicester City:
- Matthew Upson – Played for six different clubs in between
- Andy Johnson – Played for West Bromwich Albion in between
- Stan Collymore – Played for Liverpool and Aston Villa in between
- Phil Gilchrist – Played for Middlesbrough, Hartlepool United, and Oxford United in between
- Garry Parker – Played for Aston Villa in between, also had a spell as caretaker manager at Leicester
Managers
- Rob Kelly – Played for and managed Leicester, later caretaker manager of Forest on three separate occasions
- Billy Davies – Played briefly for Leicester, before going on to manage Nottingham Forest on two separate spells (also managed Derby County)
- Gary Megson – Played for and managed Forest, later managed Leicester
- Steve Beaglehole – Reserve team coach for Forest, briefly joint caretaker manager at Leicester
- Micky Adams – Assistant and briefly caretaker manager at Forest, later managed Leicester
- Dave Bassett – Managed Forest, and was later manager, Director of football, and caretaker manager at Leicester
- Martin O'Neill – Played for Forest, managed Leicester, later managed Forest.
- David Pleat – Played for Forest, later managed Leicester
- Matt Gillies – Leicester City's longest serving manager, later went on to manage Forest
- Steve Cooper – Took Forest back to the Premier League after a two-decade-plus absence, later managed Leicester
Match list
Recent matches are on top.
- Leicester City win Nottingham Forest win Draw
Hooliganism and crowd trouble
In 1977, an incident described as "trouble" broke out after a match between Leicester and Forest. Eighteen people were arrested in connection with the incident.[59]
Incidents of throwing of objects and racist chanting from Nottingham Forest fans towards Leicester fans have also been observed in recent years. Reports of racist chanting[60] and items being thrown at Alan Rogers during a 2–2 draw between the clubs in 2002.[31] Most recently during an FA Cup tie in January 2012, which resulted in eleven arrests.[61][62]
Following a derby clash on 4 May 2013, six Forest fans were arrested after Leicester won the game and a play-off place in the 91st minute of play.[63]
Prior to Leicester and Forest's 2–2 draw on 19 February 2014, a Nottingham Forest fan was arrested for tweeting racist abuse at Leicester fans.[64]
A fight broke out between both sets of supporters during a boxing event at the King Power Stadium in September 2018. [65]
Two men were arrested after violent incidents before and after Nottingham Forest's fourth-round FA Cup tie with Leicester City in February 2002. Officers were called to disturbances in Nottingham city centre before the game began. [66] During the FA Cup match a Leicester City fan was arrested and later charged with three counts of common assault and going onto a playing area at a football match. [67]
On 6 February 2022 before the 2021–22 FA Cup clash between the sides, Leicester fans vandalised a bar in the city centre of Nottingham prior to kick off and a Leicester City fan ran on the pitch as Nottingham Forest players were celebrating a goal and attacked one of the Forest players.[68][69]