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Nottingham Forest logo
Championship | Gameweek 32
Feb 12, 2022 at 3pm UK
City Ground
Stoke logo

Nott'm Forest
2 - 2
Stoke

Johnson (56'), Yates (90+1')
Lowe (7'), Davis (18'), Garner (52')
Samba (85')
FT(HT: 0-0)
Maja (68'), Baker (88' pen.)
Wilmot (33'), Clucas (81'), Allen (90+1')

Preview: Nottingham Forest vs. Stoke City - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Nottingham Forest and Stoke City, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Nottingham Forest square off against Stoke City on Saturday afternoon looking to strengthen their position in the Championship playoffs.

While Forest sit five places clear of their next opponents, the Potters are just four points adrift with one game in hand on their East Midlands hosts.


Match preview

Nottingham Forest manager Steve Cooper reacts after Cardiff City wins the match on January 30, 2022© Reuters

Having reached the middle of September without recording a league win, Forest supporters would been comfortable with their team avoiding relegation during 2021-22.

However, Steve Cooper has spearheaded the most remarkable of turnarounds, the 42-year-old losing just four of his 24 matches in charge and keeping the club in line for their most successful campaign over the past two decades.

Defeating Arsenal and Leicester City in the FA Cup has created headlines, but it is results such as the 2-0 win away at Blackburn Rovers on Wednesday night which are far more important in the long run.

Forest now occupy sixth position in the standings, a playoff spot being more than acceptable right now, but the East Midlands giants only sit nine points adrift of second place.

Although Cooper will want to keep everyone's feet on the ground, Forest are undeniably the dark horses for automatic promotion having collected 21 points from their last 10 Championship fixtures.

Stoke City's Jaden Philogene-Bidace celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates on February 8, 2022© Reuters

Forest are the clear favourites to see off Stoke at the weekend, but Michael O'Neill will feel that his Potters side are back on track after two convincing wins.

After posting a 2-0 triumph over Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup, Stoke followed that victory by overcoming Swansea City by a 3-0 scoreline in the league.

Jacob Brown scored for the third game in a row, the 23-year-old now having nine strikes for the campaign having established himself as first choice in attack.

At a time when Forest have won four of their last five games at the City Ground, Stoke have recently collected seven points from a possible 12 on their travels.

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

Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):
  • W
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • W
  • W

Stoke City Championship form:
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • D
  • W

Stoke City form (all competitions):
  • W
  • D
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • W



Team News

Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill on February 8, 2022© Reuters

Cooper went with a defensive-minded midfield three against Blackburn in midweek, introducing Jack Colback for Philip Zinckernagel.

However, there could be a role reversal on Saturday with the latter returning to the Forest front three, and that may be the only change to the team.

Despite playing the final 21 minutes at Ewood Park, Sam Surridge will almost certainly remain among the replacements due to the form of Keinan Davis.

While there is scope for Stoke switching to a back three, O'Neill could stick with the same formation which proved effective against Swansea, even before their opponents were reduced to 10 men.

Tyrese Campbell will miss out with a knee injury, so either Josh Maja or D'Margio Wright-Phillips will be drafted into the side.

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

Stoke City possible starting lineup:
Bursik; Wilmot, Jagielka, Harwood-Bellis, Tymon; Baker, Allen; Brown, Powell, Philogene-Bidace; Maja


SM words green background

We say: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Stoke City

Having found some form in front of goal, Stoke will be confident of making an impact at the City Ground. However, we cannot back against Forest right now, and it would come as a surprise if Cooper's team did not collect all three points from a hard-fought contest.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 2.5 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 2.5:data



ID:477726:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:collect9162:
Written by
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 Nottingham Forest win with a probability of 38.03%. A win for Stoke City had a probability of 34.48% and a draw had a probability of 27.5%.

The most likely scoreline for a Nottingham Forest win was 1-0 with a probability of 11.07%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.11%) and 2-0 (6.91%). The likeliest Stoke City win was 0-1 (10.42%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 4.8% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: Nott'm Forest vs Stoke

Nottingham Forest
57.5%
Draw
20.5%
Stoke City
21.9%
73
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool14112129111835
2Chelsea1594235181731
3Arsenal1585229151429
4Manchester CityMan City158342721627
5Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest157441918125
6Aston Villa157442323025
7Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton156632522324
8Bournemouth157352320324
9Brentford157263128323
10Fulham156542220223
11Tottenham HotspurSpurs1562731191220
12Newcastle UnitedNewcastle155551921-220
13Manchester UnitedMan Utd155461918119
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham155372028-818
15Everton143561421-714
16Leicester CityLeicester153572130-914
17Crystal Palace152761420-613
18Ipswich TownIpswich151681427-139
19Wolverhampton WanderersWolves1523102338-159
20Southampton1512121131-205


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