Nottingham Forest and Derby County go toe-to-toe on Friday night as they both look to resurrect their seasons.

The Reds come into this game off the back of a 1-1 draw at home to Rotherham while Derby come into it on the back of a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Huddersfield Town.

  • Team News

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Forest manager Chris Hughton has no fresh injury concerns ahead of the game on Friday but he will still be without the services of Joe Worrall and Fouad Bachirou who will both miss out through injury. 

Derby will be without captain Wayne Rooney, just as they were for the game against Huddersfield, as he continues to self-isolate. 

Krystian Bielik and Jordon Ibe are still working back towards full fitness but Louie Sibley is back in contention.

  • Predicted Lineups

Nottingham Forest predicted starting XI: Samba; Christie, McKenna, Figueiredo, Ioannou; Colback, Yates; Lolley, Freeman, Ameobi; Taylor.

Derby County predicted starting XI: Marshall; Wisdom, Davies, Clarke; Byrne, Bird, Shinnie, Buchanan; Lawrence, Waghorn, Knight.

  • Ones to watch

For Nottingham Forest, a player to watch is Joe Lolley; the winger loves to run at defenders and cut inside with that menacing left foot of his. Lolley scored in the fixture when the pair met last time out at Pride Park as he rattled the ball home from distance. He has one goal to his name this term, a late winner at Blackburn Rovers last week.

For Derby, the player to watch is wing-back Nathan Byrne. The summer signing from Wigan Athletic has started well with the Rams despite the teams poor start to the season. His aggressive runs up field along with his tight ball control make him a nuisance for any opposition team and the wing-back has also created the most chances for Derby this season. 

Previous Meeting

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The previous meeting between these two sides came at the back-end of the 19/20 season and would be the catalyst for Forest and Sabri Lamouchi's downfall as they inevitably slipped out the play-offs on the final day.

Lolley opened the scoring after only 12 minutes as his strike from distance evaded then on-loan Derby keeper Ben Hamer. 

The game would prove to be a dull affair until the final few minutes, firstly Martyn Waghorn saw red for Derby in the 94th minute but a late free-kick would give the Rams the chance to nick a late equaliser as the ball popped up across the six-yard box, and Chris Martin would be on hand to bundle the ball into the back of the net to share the spoils. 

  • How to watch

The game is available to watch on Sky Sports Football and Sky Sports Main Event with kick off at 19:45 BST.

What the managers have said

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Hughton said "it has the added impetus of being our biggest derby game" as he spoke to the Nottingham Forest website.

“From what I have seen so far and, of course I was not involved in the first series of games with no supporters, is that when the players are on the pitch, there is a really good level of intensity and the same desires to want to win the game and not want to lose the game.

“Because the game is what it is and that is our biggest derby game and for the fans the biggest game of the season, I would expect that type of intensity from both sides in the game.

“First and foremost, we are at home and we would want to get the three points, irrespective of who the opposition is.

“We are unbeaten in two which is a nice feeling and I would like to think we can go into the game with some confidence.

“It has the added impetus of being our biggest derby game. Every single player in the team would have played in some type of derby game, so they will know what it means, what it means to the club and supporters, so I do not think it will be difficult to get them up for this one.”

Phillip Cocu evaluated the Forest squad as they made numerous summer signings but expects "nothing new". 

"They have quite a few new players in, that is true," said Cocu to Derbyshire Live.

"I think with the new manager, and of course every manager is different in their approach and the way they prepare, there will be differences, but I think in the way and style they play is quite similar, so that is nothing new.

"I think they have a very good squad, individual qualities, a strong side who defend well."