da lvbet： Nottingham Forest host Championship leaders Newcastle United at the City Ground on Friday night looking to record their third successive league win.
da brdice： Before their consecutive victories, Forest were lying in 20th position in the table just two points above the relegation zone, but they have now extended that gap to four points.
An impressive 2-0 success against Ipswich Town at Portman Road was followed up by a 5-2 thrashing of Barnsley at Oakwell, and Philippe Montanier’s men now sit just seven points from the play-off positions and have a squad brimming with confidence.
The prospect of facing Rafa Benitez’s side would have been daunting one prior to last weekend, after the Magpies had won nine league matches in a row, but they were brought back down to earth with a 1-0 home loss to Blackburn Rovers.
Here is FootballFanCast’s Nottingham Forest XI to beat the Championship title favourites on Friday…
GK: Vladimir Stojkovic
The Serbian stopper moved to the City Ground from Maccabi Haifa in the summer but the 33-year-old had failed to keep a clean sheet in the Championship until the 2-0 win at Ipswich a fortnight ago.
Stojkovic will certainly haven taken some confidence from not conceding at Portman Road and he will be looking to add to that shutout in the coming weeks as Forest aim to move up towards the right end of the table.
RWB: Eric Lichaj
Philippe Montanier’s preference for the majority of the season has been to play the 3-5-2 formation with wing-backs, and Lichaj is certainly his first choice on the right side.
The American defender actually missed last weekend’s 5-2 win against Barnsley because of a calf problem, and Forest’s French manager will be hoping that the 28-year-old is fit to return to the starting line-up in place of Michael Mancienne for the visit of the leaders.
CB: Matt Mills
With Forest likely to come up against Aleksandar Mitrovic or Dwight Gayle – or possibly both – on Friday night, they will need a centre-back with experience and quality, so Mills is ideal.
The former Bolton and Reading defender has made 17 appearances in all competitions this term with just one of those outings ending with a clean sheet.
He might need another if the Reds are to take anything against the Championship leaders.
CB: Damien Perquis
The France-born Polish defender was another player that arrived at the City Ground in the summer, and the 32-year-old has been almost ever-present in Forest’s backline.
As well as showing his defensive abilities alongside Mills and Joe Worrall at the heart of the defence, Perquis has also demonstrated that he can be a threat at the other end of the pitch too – he scored goals against Leeds United and Blackburn Rovers earlier this season.
CB: Joe Worrall
The 19-year-old starlet is the latest young breakthrough star at Forest and after making his full debut for the club in the 2-0 defeat at Reading in October, Worrall has started the following three matches and was part of the defence that picked up a rare clean sheet in the 2-0 win at Ipswich.
His impressive and mature performances haven’t gone unnoticed either with Everton and Stoke both reportedly eyeing a move for the young centre-back.
LWB: Danny Fox
If he was fit, Daniel Pinillos would be first choice at left wing-back but the Spaniard has endured a torrid time since joining Forest in the summer of 2015 – he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in December 2015 and despite making his return against Ipswich last month, he is once again on the sidelines with a knee problem.
It means that Fox should get the nod and the left-sided player certainly impressed going forward at Barnsley, setting up striker Apostolos Vellios for his goal.
CM: Pajtim Kasami
Because of his appearances in the Premier League and Europa League for Fulham, Kasami is certainly one of those players that you think might be older than he actually is.
The 24-year-old has been one of the consistent starters in the Forest midfield this season and he may just be in for his toughest battle yet when he could come up against the likes of Jonjo Shelvey, Mohamed Diame and Jack Colback on Friday night.
DM: Thomas Lam
The 22-year-old midfielder certainly had an interesting start to his Nottingham Forest career as he scored a goal on his league debut in the 4-3 win against Burton Albion.
Incredibly, Lam then netted the winner in a triumph by the same scoreline against Wigan a fortnight later, but he then spent a spell out of the side until Chris Cohen suffered an injury that has brought him back in, and he has impressed in the holding midfield role since.
CM: Henri Lansbury
The Forest captain continues to be one of the biggest influences on his side and when he creates and plays well, the team usually does, too.
The 26-year-old comes into this clash against the Championship leaders brimming with confidence after he netted a hat-trick in the 5-2 win against Barnsley last weekend, and the former Arsenal man will be keen provide the same goal threat to cause Newcastle similar problems at the City Ground.
AM: Ben Osborn
The 22-year-old is another of Forest’s impressive young stars and the attacking midfielder scored his first goal of the season in the thrashing of Barnsley last week.
Osborn has been ever-present for the Reds in the Championship this season and like centre-back Worrall, he is also said to be attracting interest from Premier League clubs following some impressive performances. He will want to put in another against Newcastle as Forest look to make it three wins in a row.
ST: Britt Assombalonga
Forest have suffered a number of serious injury blows in recent seasons and one of the biggest was losing Assombalonga to a knee injury for more than a year.
The striker was fully fit to start the current season and despite enduring a slight injury-hit campaign, the 23-year-old has scored six goals in eight appearances including both in the 2-0 win at Ipswich.
Montanier will certainly be hoping that Assombalonga, who missed the trip to Barnsley with a hamstring problem, is fit enough to start on Friday.