Nottingham Forest continued their impressive start to this new season as they collected a 2nd round League Cup win over arch-rivals, Derby County, during the week with a convincing 3-0 win which will give them a further boost ahead of this Saturday’s clash against Preston North End.
After a tentative opening to their campaign which saw the hosts gain just 1 point from their first 2 league matches, Nottingham Forest have clicked into gear and bring a 5-match unbeaten run into this encounter at their City Ground.
An opening day 2-1 defeat at home to West Brom was followed by a point in a 1-1 draw away at Leeds United at Elland Road, but this worthy point against last season’s 3rd placed team was the catalyst behind Forest’s recent resurgence.
The home side have won 4 of their last 5 matches overall in all competitions which include victories over Birmingham City and Fulham in the Championship as well as League Cup wins against Fleetwood Town and this week’s win over Derby County.
Striker, Lewis Grabban (4 goals) has started in explosive fashion and manager, Sabri Lamouchi, will be hoping Grabban can score on a regular basis this term.
Preston North End also secured a League Cup win in midweek against Hull City although they needed penalties to progress to the 3rd round of the competition, but nevertheless, that victory became Preston’s third win on the trot in all competitions.
The visitors had previously registered back-to-back wins in the Championship against Stoke City 3-1 and Sheffield Wednesday 2-1, but it should be noted that both of these recent wins along with an earlier win against Wigan Athletic 3-0, were all recorded on home turf at their Deepdale ground.
Results away from home though have produced a less than impressive return for Preston as they’ve lost 3 of their last 4 matches on the road in all competitions, which include defeats at Fleetwood Town (pre-season friendly) along with losses in the Championship at Millwall and Swansea City.
The story gets worse when looking at Preston’s results away from home in the Championship; the Lilywhites have lost their last 6 matches on the trot on their travels, conceding a total of 15 goals and scoring just 4 in reply.
Nottingham Forest’s recent winning momentum should therefore be enough to seal the points for the Tricky Trees here.