Nottingham Forest welcome Fulham to the City Ground in the Championship with both sides looking to solidify their top-six spot.
Nottingham Forest Take on Fulham in Top Six Clash
Nottingham Forest Aiming to Make Amends for Weekend Disappointment
Sabri Lamouchi’s men come into this one sitting in fifth place and have a seven-point cushion between them and Derby County in 7th.
But the gap could have been a whole lot bigger after their clash with their fiercest rivals at the weekend. Joe Lolley’s 11th-minute strike cancelled out by a 97th-minute equaliser by Chris Martin.
It is the second consecutive away game that Forest have conceded in second-half stoppage time, and has all but ended their faint chances of gatecrashing the top two.
But there were positives to take from their draw in East Midlands derby. They are still unbeaten since the season restart, and only need three more wins to guarantee a place in the play-offs.
Fulham Aiming to Make Three Consecutive Wins
The away side sit just two points ahead of their opponents in fourth position.
They also experienced late drama at the weekend, Josh Onamah scored a 95th-minute winner to secure all three points over Birmingham City at Craven Cottage.
Like Forest, only three more wins would secure their place in the play-offs.
Match Facts
Forest came out on top in their previous meeting back in August. Lewis Grabban scored a brace in that fixture.
Grabban is the home side’s top scorer. A goal this evening would take him onto 20 for the season.
A win for Fulham would take them five points clear of Forest, while a win for the Reds would leapfrog them over their opponents into fourth.
Team News
Nottingham Forest will have a full squad available for this match.
Fulham will have four players out, however. Terence Kongolo and Aboubakar Kamara are out with injuries, while Alfie Mawson is not match fit.
Aleksander Mitrovic has 23 goals this season, but he will not be available as he carries out his suspension following an elbow on Ben White in their 3-0 defeat at Leeds United.
Prediction
With Fulham without a recognised goalscorer in Mitrović, it raises the question of who will be the man to put the ball in the net. 1-0, 1-1 and 1-2 have been their most familiar scoreline in 19/20.
But it should be mentioned that Forest’s have 1-1 nine times, which is their most frequent result this season. 1-0 is their most common scoreline in games they’ve won (six times).
There’s not much to separate these two sides. That’s in terms of League position, points total, goals for and goals against, and in truth, we cannot call it. It feels like it’s going to be a tight game, with one goal to potentially separate them.
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Fulham
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