Burton Albion vs Nottingham Forest Preview: Forest trying to stay out of the relegation battle

Bottom of the table Burton Albion host Nottingham Forest on Saturday, with both teams facing different levels of fear regarding relegation.

Home is not where the heart is

There's no getting away from the situation that Burton find themselves in at the foot of the Sky Bet Championship table after picking up just 25 points from 31 games. A team's home form can often be their saving grace when struggling in the league, but Burton's has been awful to say the least with just two wins and eight of their points tally coming at the compact Pirelli stadium.

The Millers last few games in particular have not been pretty with just one point picked up and 15 goals conceded since a 3-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday on New years day. Manager Nigel Clough is no doubt fighting an uphill battle logistically with Burton in this league, but they're only four points from safety and if they can start to play well in front of their own fans then Albion have a great chance of staying up.

New faces taking time to gel

New Nottingham Forest manager Aitor Karanka moved quickly to put his own mark on this Nottingham Forest squad after bringing in six players at the end of the January transfer window, while also shipping out the same number of bodies. Like with any new players it will take time for them to work well with the ones Karanka has kept, but with the end of season run in approaching and Forest sliding down the league table they need quick results.

Forest currently sit 17th in the league table and eight points above the relegation zone, but if their form in 2018 so far continues in the same vain then they'll be right in the thick of a relegation scrap for the last few games of the season. With the exception of a 2-0 win at league leaders Wolves, Forest have picked up just a point in their five other league games so far this year and lost to Hull City last time out at home who were in the relegation zone at the time.

Team news

With three long term injuries already to a thin squad, Nigel Clough will be hoping defender Ben Turner and midfielder Liam Murphy can be fit for this game despite concerns over calf and shin injuries respectively.

Record signing Liam Boyce is fit again and will be hoping to make his first start after a serious knee injury.

Goalkeeper Stefanos Kapino and midfielder Liam Bridcutt are fit again after injury and perhaps can get the chance to show manager Karanka what they can offer to the team.