Nottingham Forest play host to Birmingham City on Saturday afternoon, looking for a victory which will strengthen their hold of a Championship playoff spot.
While Forest could potentially move into third position this weekend, Blues are looking to move closer to the 50-point mark now that their second-tier status has effectively been assured for another year.
Match preview
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Still only sitting two points inside the top six, Forest head coach Steve Cooper would almost certainly accept a playoff spot if it was offered to him and his team right now.
However, trailing second-placed Bournemouth by eight points with eight matches remaining, and with the two teams still to face each other, there is scope for Forest to remain in the automatic promotion hunt.
A nine-match unbeaten streak in the Championship has featured six wins and three draws, the latest success coming on Wednesday as Forest got the better of Coventry City by a 2-0 scoreline.
Brennan Johnson continued his hot streak during that fixture, the Wales international having now contributed four goals and an assist during his last three league games.
Forest's backline has been equally impressive, the East Midlands outfit conceding just three times in seven matches to hold the third-best defensive record in the division.
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For one reason or another, Birmingham have endured a turbulent campaign, one which has been spent mainly in the bottom half of the table.
Nevertheless, Blues have never really been under threat as far as relegation is concerned, and collecting eight points from five games has ensured that they will mix it with the same company next season.
Three clean sheets have also been posted in four games, the most recent of those shutouts coming last weekend in a 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion.
Lyle Taylor scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot, taking his tally to four strikes from nine starts since his arrival in January.
However, with the forward being on loan from Forest and unable to play this weekend, Birmingham must find another solution in front of goal after ending a 414-minute wait to get on the scoresheet.
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Team News
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While Cooper has recently spoken about wanting to maintain momentum, a quick turnaround means that changes to his Forest XI are a possibility.
Joe Lolley and Sam Surridge are most likely to come into the final third, while Cafu may get a run out in the centre of the pitch.
James Garner could be handed a rest having played 90 minutes on three occasions since March 29, a run which includes an appearance for England Under-21s.
Taylor Richards and Lukas Jutkiewicz are both pushing for recalls to the Birmingham starting lineup in the absence of Taylor.
Although he was withdrawn against West Brom, Manchester United loanee Tahith Chong is expected to be passed fit for this contest.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Worrall, Figueiredo, McKenna; Spence, Yates, Cafu, Colback; Zinckernagel; Johnson, Surridge
Birmingham City possible starting lineup:
Etheridge; Colin, Roberts, Gordon; Hernandez, Bacuna, Gardner, Pedersen; Richards, Chong; Hogan
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Birmingham City
While Blues will be high in confidence after their recent form, a trip to the City Ground is currently the toughest test at this level. With that in mind, we expect another professional showing from Forest, who may score a goal in either half to make relatively light work of their opponents.
Top tip
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 56.66%. A draw had a probability of 24.4% and a win for Birmingham City had a probability of 18.91%.
The most likely scoreline for a Nottingham Forest win was 1-0 with a probability of 13.73%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (11.32%) and 2-1 (9.47%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.48%), while for a Birmingham City win it was 0-1 (6.96%). The actual scoreline of 2-0 was predicted with an 11.3% likelihood. Our team at Sports Mole correctly predicted a 2-0 win for Nottingham Forest in this match and our data analysis correctly predicted the win for Nottingham Forest.
