Midlands derby: Derby County vs Nottingham Forest
The hotly anticipated East Midlands derby has been selected for Saturday’s early kickoff – weather permitting – as Nottingham Forest travel to Pride Park to tackle fierce rivals Derby County.
Derby go into the game after a mixed run of form. Their last 5 outings in all competitions has seen them go down to a 2-0 defeat away at Burnley, nick a 1-1 draw at the Valley against Charlton, spank high-flying Middlesbrough 3-1 at home, thump Tranmere 5-0 at home in the FA Cup 3rd round, and lost 2-1 to a determined Brighton side down on the South coast.
They currently sit dead in the middle of the table, but could jump a few places towards the play-offs if they achieve the 3 points.
Will Hughes was forced off with an injury during the trip to the Amex but looks set to return to the side, as long as he isn’t snatched by the looming Manchester City in the meantime, and the Rams have no new injury concerns.
Alex McLeish is no stranger to derby games having a massive wealth of managerial experience, but this will be the first time he is involved with this fixture. The Scot picked up his first win with the Reds in the clash with Peterborough in last week’s Championship clash after a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace, a 3-0 smashing delivered by Blackburn and a 3-2 home loss against League One side Oldham in the FA Cup 3rd round.
Forest are one of 3 clubs who are able to jump into a play-off place with a win this weekend, along with Millwall and Brighton.
This fixture is always a feisty affair and is often met with red cards and tension in the stands, but what will Saturday’s early kickoff have in store for us?
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