Since Billy Davies returned to the City Ground for another spell as manager, Nottingham Forest have soared through the chasing pack and cemented their place within the play-offs. Six wins on the trot – including an away success against Hull last time out – has served noticed to all the other side’s challenging for promotion. Davies has won promotion with Derby from the Championship and boasts an excellent record in the division during his first spell with Forest and also at Preston so he knows exactly what it takes to peak at the right time. Saturday brings another of their promotion rivals in the shape of Gus Poyet’s Brighton in what promises to be an enthralling contest and one which could go a long way to determining the make-up of the top six come the end of the season considering there are just eight games left.
Brighton may have dropped out of the play-off’s in recent weeks but they will be buoyed for the run in by the decision of their manager to reject Premier League side Reading to stay and continue his good work at the Amex Stadium. A morale boosting 3-0 derby win against Crystal Palace in their last match before the international break will stand them in good stead for what will be another test of their credentials as they visit the City Ground. Compared to other sides challenging to go up, it looks as though Brighton have one of the ‘easier’ run-in’s, on paper at least. After Saturday’s match against Nottingham Forest they face just one side who sit above them and that’s Leicester who have only bettered them on goal difference.
The upturn in Nottingham Forest’s fortunes has been remarkable considering Billy Davies has not been able to strengthen in the transfer marker since taking over in February. All six wins have been built on a strong, sound defence, evidenced by conceding just three goals in that run and keeping three clean sheets along the way. It’s what Davies does and with attacking talent such as Billy Sharp, Simon Cox and Andy Reid, if you can prevent other teams scoring you are always in with a chance of taking all three points.
With it being so tight in the top half of the table, it’s unlikely that a loss will directly decide Brighton’s fate but it will act as a marker if both sides reach the end of season play-off’s. They got revenge on their bitter rivals Palace last time out after being on the end of a 3-0 thrashing earlier in the season and after drawing a blank against Forest in their home match, will be determined to collect all three points on their road fixture against them.
Brighton have been a lot stronger at home than on their travels but they have picked up wins against Watford and Cardiff on the road. That being said, they have lost at Bolton, Palace, Leicester and Hull. There is so much momentum behind Billy Davies and Forest at the moment that I am firmly on the side of the home team in this fixture.
Nottingham Forest 23/20 @ Betvictor
