Rovers have played lower-league opposition so far, drawing 0-0 with Accrington Stanley and beating Barnsley 3-0.
But their week in Portugal will be a clear step up in quality. Mowbray has already outlined his expectation that Rovers will play large portions of the game without the ball. The key will be picking and choosing when to press and ensuring they are clinical when they get their opportunities.
Although Forest have a few players unavailable, it’s expected to be a strong team that at least starts the match. Oliver Glasner began his reign as Forest head coach by beating Notts County 2-0 at the weekend.
The Reds were essentially full strength in the first half, minus a few. Chris Wood and Ibrahim Sangare didn’t feature after their World Cup exploits but will return in Portugal.
“We will continue our work that we have started this week,” Glasner said.
“Two international players will return during the camp, Chris Wood and Ibrahim Sangare. Then hopefully we will have one or two new signings.
“Callum Hudson-Odoi will be partly integrated from Monday, so I hope he can fully train with the team in the second week of the camp. We’ll also try to bring Murillo back to train with the team.
“These are our targets and getting used to what we want to do, how we want to play in and out of possession, set-play. There are many things to do.
“The weather should be nice, it’s quite hot there and it should be fun.”
Forest’s teams still had the likes of Matz Sels, Ola Aina, Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White, Omari Hutchinson, James McAtee and Igor Jesus. Jesus and then Arnaud Kalimuendo got the goals for them at Meadow Lane.
In the second half, there were a few more youngsters with the XIs split in two. They will still provide a stern test for Rovers, who have also played with two separate teams so far this pre-season.
