Nottingham Forest have the chance to get back to winning ways following two disappointing results away at Derby and then the 1-1 draw against Preston in mid-week. Wolves will also be looking for a response to their 2-1 loss at Cardiff on Tuesday.
How they’ve fared so far
After Wednesday’s uninspiring draw, Forest remain in 16th position in the Championship league table as the players look to get back to the form which saw them win three games in a row.
This has left the club nine points off the play-off places and just six points off the relegation places. The first-half performance against Preston was very poor as Forest fans expected a response to the 3-0 defeat against Derby. However, the second-half was much improved, especially after the introduction of Apostolos Vellios.
This game is close to being a ‘must-win’ for Forest with two very tough looking away trips to Huddersfield and Newcastle to come after Christmas before Forest next return to the City Ground to play Barnsley on the 2nd January.
As for Wolverhampton Wanderers, they have also had an extremely poor season so far. They currently find themselves 20th in the league, just two points off the relegation places.
Their results have with no doubt been hampered by their managerial changes this season which saw Kenny Jackett sacked just days before the start of the season. Walter Zenga then only managed to last 87 days before being replaced by current manager Paul Lambert.
Since Lambert has taken charge, Wolves have won just once, drawn twice and lost twice with their most recent defeat coming at Cardiff on Tuesday night.
Due to Wolves’ form failing to improve under Lambert so far, he’ll be looking for his team to pick up more points over the Christmas period to drag the club away from the relegation zone.
Last time they met
Forest last played Wolves in a 1-1 draw at The City Ground back in April this year. Gary Gardner’s superb free-kick cancelled out Joe Mason’s opener for the away side.
It also finished 1-1 in the reverse fixture at Molineux last season. Dexter Blackstock got a late equaliser for the Reds following Ethan Ebanks-Landell’s early opener for Wolves. This ended a run of four straight away defeats for Forest.
Team news
Wolves will be hoping that their standout performer so far this season, Helder Costa, will pass a late fitness test ahead of their trip to the City Ground.
Costa limped off after Wolves’ 2-1 mid-week defeat to Cardiff but still has a chance of being fit for Saturday’s game as he continues his successful loan spell from Benfica.
Fellow Wolves winger, Ola John, will definitely miss the game against Forest through injury. However, excluding Costa, Wolves are likely to field a similar line-up to the one at Cardiff on Tuesday.
As for Forest, the Reds appear to have yet another injury crisis on their hands. Nicklas Bendtner, Thomas Lam and Armand Traore have become the latest absentees at the club.
This adds to a list of Chris Cohen, Henri Lansbury, Matty Fryatt, Daniel Pinillos, Danny Fox, Britt Assombalonga and others.
Forest manager Philippe Montanier has admitted that this has massively hampered Forest in recent weeks but hopes for a good performance Saturday afternoon.