Nottingham Forest have the first of two chances to use games in hand on their rivals to jump into the Championship’s automatic promotion places (10/11 Promotion) when they travel to struggling Scunthorpe United on Wednesday evening.
Billy Davies’ men have stormed up the table in recent weeks with a ten-game unbeaten run to leave them handily-placed in fourth position and just two points behind second-placed Cardiff – who blew their opportunity to cement their place in the top two by being held to a 1-1 draw against Burnley on Tuesday.
Sunday’s 1-1 draw at league leaders QPR, despite being down to ten men for most of the Loftus Road encounter, highlighted Forest as real contenders for not only promotion but possibly the title (9/2 Outright) as they could move to within a point of Neil Warnock’s Rs if they win their two games in hand.
Forest have to travel to struggling Middlesbrough on March 1 to catch up on their previously postponed fixtures, but they will look to leap-frog Norwich and Cardiff this evening with a maximum haul from their game at Glanford Park.
Davies will be without Radoslaw Majewski, who must serve a three-match suspension following his red card at QPR, while fellow midfielder Guy Moussi is out with a thigh injury.
However, Forest should have more than enough to see off the Iron, who are seven points adrift of safety in second-bottom spot in the table following a run of 12 defeats in their last 14 and have won only once at home all season.
Ian Baraclough’s side will be without striker Joe Garner under the terms of his loan from Forest, but Chris Dagnall should be back in contention. Defenders Rob Jones and David Mirfin are doubtful and Garry Thompson is still about four weeks away from a return.
Forest boast the best defensive record in the Championship on their travels, while Scunthorpe are poor at home and have failed to score in seven of their last ten league matches.
Everything points to a 3-0 win for Forest (12/1 Correct Score), but the fact they battled on to earn a point with ten men at QPR could impact on their energy levels and subsequently play a part on the outcome of the game.
Add to that Scunthorpe’s desperation for points to try and save themselves from the drop back into League One and it might be a closer affair than many would anticipate looking at the stats ahead of the game.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest To Score In Both Halves @ 7/4
Value Bet: Forest To Win 2-1 @ 7/1
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