Forest aim to compound Potters’ misery and secure Championship survival

Nottingham Forest could confirm their Sky Bet Championship status for next season when they face a struggling Stoke City side on Saturday.

The East Midlands outfit have largely underperformed this campaign following their astronomical drop off from the top six last term. They’re currently languishing in 18th place having failed to win any of their last three matches.

Their previous encounter saw Chris Hughton’s side scrape a draw against a resurgent Birmingham City team. An injury time penalty was tucked home by Lewis Grabban to give Forest an all-important point.

The 62-year-old manager replaced Sabri Lamouchi in early October after enduring a winless start to the season. Hughton hasn’t quite had the effect that most of the Forest faithful would’ve hoped for, but he has certainly steadied the ship.

Since his appointment, the former Republic of Ireland international has overseen 12 wins, 14 draws and 13 losses. That form would propel them to 13th place if the season had commenced after Lamouchi’s departure.

The one opinion that unifies the fanbase at the City Ground is that Forest have been showing complete ineptitude in front of goal in recent weeks.

Not only have they scored the fourth fewest goals in the division, but they have also netted just once in their last three – Grabban’s controversial last-minute spot kick in midweek.

However, there is a reason for optimism as Saturday’s visitors have conceded seven strikes in their last four outings, three of which occurred in Wednesday night’s home defeat to Coventry.

The hosts may be able to take advantage of City’s depleted defence. James Chester is the latest to fall victim of the relentless Championship fixture schedule; he was withdrawn after just 15 minutes against Coventry with a calf problem.

However, the 34-year-old’s replacement Connor Taylor, who made his debut on Wednesday, is unlikely to feature as stalwart Harry Souttar is set to return from suspension. He will most likely play alongside Danny Batth, who has been inconsistent as of late.

There were goals a plenty the last time Stoke travelled to Nottingham, with the Potters destroying Forest’s playoff hopes with a damning 4-1 triumph. The result was part of a six-goal swing on the final day that knocked Forest out of the playoffs.

Earlier this season, the two sides drew 1-1, with Jordan Thompson scoring directly from a corner and the aforementioned Chester later diverting into his own net on an extremely foggy evening at the Bet365 Stadium.

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