Nottingham Forest have confirmed that their first pre-season friendly of the summer will be against local rivals Notts County next month.

In a statement on Monday, Forest revealed that the short trip across the River Trent to Meadow Lane will kick-start the Reds’ pre-season campaign.

The friendly is scheduled to take place next month, on July 18, with kick-off scheduled for 15:00 BST.

Though the game against Notts County will be Forest’s first of pre-season, it is the fourth confirmed game that Vitor Pereira’s side will play this summer.

Last week, the club announced a pre-season training camp in Portugal, where they will face Blackburn Rovers, Vitória SC and Sporting CP.

Fans will be able to attend the games against Blackburn and Sporting, but the trip to face Notts County will be supporters’ first chance to get a glimpse at the squad in early pre-season.

Though some of the club’s stars could still be on leave following their involvement at the World Cup, the bulk of the squad would have resumed training by then, though an encounter against much lower-level opposition is likely to be an opportunity for some members on the fringes of Pereira’s squad.

Notts County secured promotion to League One last season, having beaten Salford City 3-0 in the play-off final after a fifth-place League Two finish.

Despite a polar difference in position in the leagues, Forest have played County as recently as 2023, in a pre-season game where the Reds emerged as 1-0 victors, with the winner on that day scored by Hwang Ui-Jo.

In fact, Forest have travelled to Meadow Lane for four friendlies since 2016, and have not lost against the Magpies in any game, competitive or otherwise, since 1982, in the old First Division.

More domestic pre-season games are set to be announced in due course, with rumours persisting over a repeat of last summer’s visit to Chesterfield.

Reds fans can buy tickets for the game here, though it will also be streamed on ForestTV, according to the club.