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Nottingham Forest will host Birmingham City at the City Ground on Saturday, with three points on the line in the EFL Championship.
The home side come into the game on the back of a routine 2-0 home win over Coventry City. Brennan Johnson and James Garner scored in either half to guide the Tricky Trees to all three points.
Birmingham City also secured maximum points with a narrow 1-0 home win over West Brom on Sunday. Lyle Taylor's penalty midway through the second half proved to be the difference between the two sides.
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The victory helped the West Midlands outfit climb to 18th spot, having garnered 45 points from 40 matches. Nottingham Forest sit in fifth place on 64 points with two games in hand over their nearest rivals.
Nottingham Forest vs Birmingham City Head-to-Head
The two sides have clashed on 121 occasions in the past and Nottingham Forest have a slightly better record with 44 wins to their name.
The two sides shared the spoils in 36 previous matches, while Birmingham City have 41 wins to their name.
Their most recent meeting came in October 2021 when Forest claimed a 3-0 away win.
Nottingham Forest form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-W-W
Birmingham City form guide: W-D-L-D-W
Nottingham Forest vs Birmingham City Team News
Nottingham Forest
Max Lowe and Steve Cook have both been sidelined by fitness issues. There are no suspension concerns for the hosts.
Injuries: Max Lowe, Steve Cook
Suspension: None
Birmingham City
Troy Deeney, George Friend, Teden Mengi and Adan George have all been sidelined with injuries. Lyle Taylor is unavailable as he is on loan from Forest.
Injuries: Troy Deeney, George Friend, Teden Mengi, Adan George
Suspension: None
Unavailable: Lyle Taylor
Nottingham Forest vs Birmingham City Predicted XI
Nottingham Forest Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Brice Samba; Scott McKenna, Tobias Figueiredo, Joe Worral; Jack Colback, James Garner, Ryan Yates, Djed Spence; Philip Zinckernagel; Keinan Davis, Brennan Johnson
Birmingham City Predicted XI (3-5-2): Neil Etheridge; Marc Roberts, Nico Gordon, Maxim Colin; Onel Hernandez, Ivan Sunjic, Gary Gardner, Juninho Bacuna, Jordan Graham; Tahith Chong, Scott Hogan
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Nottingham Forest vs Birmingham City Prediction
Nottingham Forest are on a strong run of form and their impressive home record has put them on the cusp of making the promotion playoffs.
Birmingham City have little left to play for this season and we are backing the hosts to claim a comfortable win.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 2-0 Birmingham City
