Nottingham Forest v West Brom – Match Preview
Nottingham Forest v West Brom
Both Nottingham Forest and West Brom have been tipped for big things in the Championship this season and will be aiming for their first wins on Tuesday.
Forest have made a string of signings after almost two decades out of the top flight and had to settle for a 1-1 draw at Bristol City on Saturday. The Baggies failed to convert a host of chances as they went down 2-1 at home to relegation candidates Bolton.
The results left Aitor Karanka and Darren Moore with plenty of questions to answer and they will be desperate to see more from their sides at the City Ground.
Karanka arrived last January and knows what he is doing at this level, having guided Middlesbrough to the Premier League in the past, after also reaching the play-off final.
The Spaniard has certainly done some surgery on his squad, adding Championship know-how in Lewis Grabban and Michael Dawson, while also injecting excitement with the signings of Joao Carvalho and Tobias Figueiredo.
A decent pre-season showed potential and Karanka will have been encouraged by the spirit his team demonstrated in what was a disjointed performance at Ashton Gate.
2.25 looks a good price for the home win and Forest will be keen to put on a show in front of their long-suffering supporters.
The Baggies also have a point to prove after dropping out of the Premier League last term and Darren Moore’s men have been widely tipped to bounce back after building momentum towards the end of the campaign.
Signings such as Sam Johnstone and Kyle Bartley are quality additions, although the loss of experienced trio James McClean, Jonny Evans and Ben Foster was always going to present problems.
Loanee Harvey Barnes scored a contender for goal of the season against Bolton but the performance as a whole was mixed and Moore has described the result as a “wake-up call”.
A win on Tuesday is 3.25, with the draw 3.45 and WBA will need to improve if they are to live up to their pre-season billing.
This will be the first time the pair have meet in a competitive fixture since 2010. On that occasion Forest won 3-1 at the Hawthorns, getting revenge for West Brom’s 1-0 win at the City Ground.
With these sides well matched, this could be an extremely cagey game and both Karanka and Moore will be looking to defend first and take the chances presented to them.
With both teams 11.00 to be promoted, this is likely to be a case of scoping each other out and history could provide some clues, with under 2.5 goals in seven of their last eight meetings at the City Ground, an outcome that can be backed at 1.69.
It certainly sets up to be an intriguing contest but on a night where there is likely to be plenty of excitement and anticipation on the banks of the Trent, home advantage could well make the difference.
