MX23RW : Saturday, April 20 03:17:47| >> :120:16882:16882:
[monks data]
Nottingham Forest logo
Championship | 2nd Leg
May 17, 2022 at 7.45pm UK
The City Ground
Sheffield United logo

Nott'm Forest
1 - 2
Sheff Utd

Johnson (19')
McKenna (75'), Worrall (90+1'), Cook (111')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Gibbs-White (47'), Fleck (75')
Heckingbottom (38'), Robinson (58')
Nott'm Forest win 3-2 on penalties

Preview: Nottingham Forest vs. Sheffield United - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Tuesday's Championship clash between Nottingham Forest and Sheffield United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Nottingham Forest play host to Sheffield United in the second leg of their Championship playoff semi-final having established a 2-1 lead from the weekend's opening fixture at Bramall Lane.

Whoever prevails at the City Ground on Tuesday night will square off against Huddersfield Town or Luton Town at Wembley Stadium later this month.


Match preview

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper celebrates after the match on March 12, 2022© Reuters

Heading into Saturday's encounter in Yorkshire, Steve Cooper would have had doubts over whether Forest had lost some of their momentum having ended the regular campaign with two away fixtures without success.

However, the club's head coach need not have worried as Jack Colback and Brennan Johnson scored the goals to give Forest the advantage ahead of Tuesday's mammoth showdown in the East Midlands.

Sander Berge's effort in added-on time has kept this tie very much alive, but Forest will be more than satisfied that they are returning to their fortress with a lead.

As it stands, their home winning streak stands at seven matches, scoring a total of 22 goals in the process, and they are statistics which highlight the size of the task in front of Sheffield United.

Johnson's 71st-minute goal at the weekend has taken him to 17 strikes for the Championship this campaign, the Wales international having previously gone four games without finding the back of the net before his late penalty versus Hull City on the final day.

Sheffield United's manager Paul Heckingbottom on March 19, 2022© Reuters

If Sheffield United boss Paul Heckingbottom is going to cling onto a certain statistic, it will be that Forest have now gone four games without keeping a clean sheet.

At the same time, the Blades have scored in their last six outings, and there will be genuine belief that they can upset the odds when the action gets underway.

That said, Heckingbottom will feel relieved that the tie did not get away from his players at the weekend, particularly having conceded as early as the 10th minute.

Sheffield United's away return is in sharp contrast to Forest's home record, the Yorkshire side's only success in seven trips coming in their final regular contest at Queens Park Rangers.

In the absence of Billy Sharp, Iliman Ndiaye has more than filled the void, the Frenchman contributing four goals and an assist from his last six outings.

Nottingham Forest Championship form:
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • D
  • W

Sheffield United Championship form:
  • L
  • D
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L


Team News

Nottingham Forest's Keinan Davis celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on March 12, 2022© Reuters

Forest were boosted at the weekend as Keinan Davis made his return from a hamstring injury, getting over quarter-of-an-hour under his belt.

However, the Aston Villa loanee will remain on the substitutes' bench with Cooper almost certainly sticking with the same side from Saturday.

Lewis Grabban is out for the rest of the season and Max Lowe, who has also been injured, is unable to face his parent club.

While Heckingbottom will also make minimal alterations to his Sheffield United XI, he may take the opportunity to bring in George Baldock at right wing-back.

The back three is expected to stay the same, but veteran forward Sharp is unlikely to make his return from a calf injury.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Worrall, Cook, McKenna; Spence, Yates, Garner, Colback; Zinckernagel; Johnson, Surridge

Sheffield United possible starting lineup:
Foderingham; Basham, Egan, Robinson; Baldock, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens; Berge; Gibbs-White, Ndiaye


SM words green background

We say: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Sheffield United (Nottingham Forest to win 4-2 on aggregate)

With a late goal having kept Sheffield United in the tie, they will be optimistic about building further momentum during the early stages on Tuesday night. However, we simply cannot back against Forest getting the job done at the City Ground, leading us to predict another hard-fought victory for the East Midlands outfit.



For additional data used by our team to analyse our suggested result please click here.

Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data


ID:485874:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9003:

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Game History

How you voted: Nott'm Forest vs Sheff Utd

Nottingham Forest
74.3%
Draw
15.5%
Sheffield United
10.2%
206
Collect / Create New Data
Share this article now:
Sheffield United's manager Paul Heckingbottom on March 19, 2022
Read Next:
Sheffield United, Luton seal Championship playoff spots
>
Sports Mole Logo
Enter your email address to subscribe to Sports Mole's free match previews newsletter! Updates are sent twice a week.
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Manchester CityMan City32227376324473
2Arsenal32225575264971
3Liverpool32218372314171
4Aston Villa33196868491963
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs32186865491660
6Newcastle UnitedNewcastle321551269521750
7Manchester UnitedMan Utd32155124748-150
8West Ham UnitedWest Ham33139115258-648
9Chelsea31138106152947
10Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton321111105250244
11Wolverhampton WanderersWolves32127134651-543
12Fulham33126154951-242
13Bournemouth32119124757-1042
14Crystal Palace3289153754-1733
15Brentford3388174758-1132
16Everton3298153248-1627
17Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest3379174258-1626
18Luton TownLuton3367204670-2425
19Burnley3348213368-3520
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd3237223084-5416


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!