Nottingham Forest claimed only their second league win of the season after their 2-1 home victory over Sheffield Wednesday on Wednesday night.

Aitor Karanka's men were dominant throughout the match and fully deserved all three points, after what has been a somewhat disappointing start to the 18/19 campaign.

The Reds now sit 11th in the Championship standings, and they will be hoping that they can now kick on from Wednesday night's win, and start pushing up the table beginning with a home game against Rotherham United on Saturday afternoon.

Expectations are high at the City Ground following a summer of big-money spending, and after last night fans will hope the likes of Lewis Grabban and Joao Carvalho can find their feet.

Here, we take a look at three factors that could make or break Forest's promotion hopes this season...

Grabban netted his first goal in Forest colours on Wednesday night against the Owls, and the 30-year-old forward will be hoping to add to his tally in quick succession, after netting 20 times in 38 appearances last term.

If the Reds can keep providing the former Aston Villa and Sunderland man with the service he requires, then his goals can spearhead Aitor Karanka's men up the Championship table with ease.

Carvalho was another player who scored his first Forest goal on Wednesday evening, and the Portuguese playmaker will be delighted to get off the mark after what has been a disappointing season for the 23-year old thus far.

The club's record signing had registered just one assist and had failed to find the back of the net for Forest in seven appearances before Wednesday night, but the attacking midfielder will now be looking to kick on following an impressive performance against the Owls.

It is now up to Karanka to continue to get the best out of the former Benfica midfielder.

In what was a summer of transition at the City Ground, the likes of Jack Colback, Claudio Yacob and Panagiotis Tachtsidis arrived at the club to join what was already a stacked midfield.

In the early stages of this season, Karanka has tried and tested various different partnerships and systems in midfield, all of which is bound to have an effect on consistency and concentration levels - he needs to decide his best midfield and stick with it.