Nottingham Forest head into Saturday's Championship fixture against Hull City with the opportunity to strengthen their bid for the playoffs.
While the resurgent home side sit in eighth position, Hull have recently moved four points clear of the relegation zone after a lengthy unbeaten streak.
Match preview
© Reuters
Despite six draws being recorded in Steve Cooper's first 12 games in charge of Forest, it kept his new side ticking over as they eased away from a relegation battle.
Within three months of sitting at the bottom of the table, Forest are now in contention for promotion, helped by 27 points coming from Cooper's 14 matches in the dugout.
Although Forest supporters will not be getting carried away, they are the second-best team in the form table since Cooper's arrival, also possessing the fourth-best defence.
Goals remain an issue but Forest were superb as they defeated Cooper's former club Swansea City by a 4-1 scoreline last time out, the visitors netting three goals during a 20-minute period in South Wales.
The East Midlands outfit have now netted six times during the second halves of their most recent double-header, leaving Hull with much to ponder despite their own strong form.
© Reuters
Over the same amount of games, Hull find themselves in 15th position in the form table, but it is a different story when taking just the last six matches into account.
Grant McCann has witnessed his Tigers players deliver 14 points, with four successive wins being followed by draws against Reading and Bristol City
Hull were no doubt disappointed having twice led in the latter of those fixtures, but the share of the spoils has kept them four points clear of 22nd position.
George Honeyman netted his fourth goal of the campaign against the Robins, taking the midfielder level with Keane Lewis-Potter, while Ryan Longman chipped in with his fourth goal or assist in just five outings.
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- W
- D
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Having been impressed with Ryan Yates's performance in the centre of defence against Swansea, Cooper may be prepared to stick with the same starting lineup.
Jordi Osei-Tutu should feature at left wing-back barring no issues after his comeback game last week, with the front three expected to stay the same after they all netted in Wales.
Despite the frustration of last weekend's dropped points, McCann could also see little reason to make any unenforced alterations to his Hull team.
Tom Eaves and Tyler Smith are options in the final third if McCann opts to take a different approach at the City Ground.
Former Derby County midfielder Tom Huddlestone should remain among the replacements.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Worrall, Yates, McKenna; Spence, Garner, Colback, Osei-Tutu; Johnson, Zinckernagel, Grabban
Hull City possible starting lineup:
Baxter; Bernard, McLoughlin, Greaves; Lewis-Potter, Smallwood, Docherty, Longman; Honeyman; Magennis, Wilks
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Hull City
A battle between eighth and 19th would usually not be a competitive fixture, but we are anticipating an entertaining battle between two in-form teams at the City Ground. While Hull are playing with the confidence to earn at least a share of the spoils, Forest could ultimately prevail by the odd goal in three.
Top tip
Darren Plant
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Hull City win with a probability of 36.52%. A win for Nottingham Forest had a probability of 34.6% and a draw had a probability of 28.9%.
The most likely scoreline for a Hull City win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.19%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (7.58%) and 0-2 (6.92%). The likeliest Nottingham Forest win was 1-0 (11.77%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.36%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with a 7.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-1 win for Nottingham Forest in this match.
