Nottingham Forest face Mark Robins's Coventry City on Wednesday night as the Sky Blues travel to the City Ground looking to extend their lead over the Reds in the league.

Forest were second best against Middlesbrough on Saturday afternoon going down 1-0 at the Riverside, while Coventry achieved a fantastic win against league-leaders Reading.

Match preview

Nottingham Forest manager Chris Hughton pictured on October 20, 2020 © Reuters

Boro inflicted Forest's first loss under Chris Hughton as they conceded late in the game on Saturday afternoon, meaning it is now four games without a win for the Reds.

Forest are teetering above the relegation zone and could easily slip below Derby County should the Rams better their result in the midweek fixtures.

Despite the undoubted quality that they have in their ranks, Forest failed to make it count against Boro and never really got going. New signing Anthony Knockaert showed signs of urgency, but was not backed up as Forest failed to register a shot on target.

With only one win under their belt all season, Forest may welcome the international break which will give more time for Hughton to iron out any creases in his side's style of play, which evidently is not clicking right now.

Coventry City's Gustavo Hamer celebrates scoring against Reading in the Championship on October 30, 2020 © Reuters

Mark Robins hailed his side's performance as they were the first team to beat league-leaders Reading so far this season. The Sky Blues have had to wait seven long games to record their second win of the new Championship season.

Gus Hamer gave Mark Robins's men the first half lead at St Andrew's before Lucas Joao pulled the visitors level midway through the second half. Matt Godden then restored City's advantage before Sam McCallum added a stunner ahead of a stoppage-time consolation from George Puscas.

A 3-2 win was enough to lift the Sky Blues out of the relegation zone and will give them a real boost in confidence before they face fellow strugglers Forest.

The Sky Blues now face stern tests away to Forest and then Watford before they enter the international break, and Robins will be hoping they can claim one or two more scalps before then.

Nottingham Forest Championship form: LWDDDL

Coventry City Championship form: LLDLLW

Team News

Luton Town's Tom Lockyer in action with Nottingham Forest's Lyle Taylor in the Championship on October 28, 2020 © Reuters

With Lewis Grabban expected to be absent once again, Hughton could opt for Tyler Walker in his place, as the manager attempts to inject some goalscoring momentum into his side.

Forest will again be without Nicholas Ioannou as he serves the second game of a three-match suspension. Harry Arter is also struggling to be fit in time for Wednesday night.

For the Sky Blues, there was a surprise start for Max Biamou against Reading and after impressing he is expected to keep his place.

Robins decided to play two up top on the weekend to provide Godden with more support, and the move worked suggesting Coventry could look to adopt this tactic moving forward.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Christie, McKenna, Figueiredo, Bong; Yates, Colback; Knockaert, Lolley, Ameobi; Walker

Coventry City possible starting lineup:
Marosi; Ostigard, McFadzean, Hyam; Dabo, Hamer, Giles; Walker, O'Hare; Godden, Biamou

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We say: Nottingham Forest 0-0 Coventry City

This fixture could well turn out to be a scrappy affair, with Coventry looking to nullify any Forest attacking threat while trying to play on the break. We expect to see tight opening exchanges, with neither side willing to concede, and this could end up being a theme for the match, which is why we are predicting a drab 0-0 draw.

Top betting tip

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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 40.55%. A win for Coventry City had a probability of 31.45% and a draw had a probability of 28%.

The most likely scoreline for a Nottingham Forest win was 1-0 with a probability of 12.23%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (8.25%) and 2-0 (7.7%). The likeliest Coventry City win was 0-1 (10.43%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.12%). The actual scoreline of 2-1 was predicted with an 8.3% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Nottingham Forest would win this match.