Nottingham Forest have undoubtedly had one of the toughest starts to the new Championship campaign. 

Their upcoming trip to Fulham comes after having hosted West Bromwich Albion and visited Leeds United inside their first five fixtures.

Fulham are beginning to hit form themselves, though, with three consecutive wins and a 4-0 hammering of Millwall to all but set them up perfectly for this Championship clash.

But for all of Fulham’s quality, how can Forest escape the same fate as Millwall and prevail against the league’s favourites in their own back yard.

We take a look at three ways the Reds can hurt them...

High press

Having had their blip against Barnsley at the start of the season, Fulham are beginning to hit free-scoring form with eight goals in their last three games. The attacking prowess of Ivan Cavaleiro, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Anthony Knockaert is one of the finest front three combinations the league has ever seen.

Their defensive four, however, is not and are susceptible to mistakes as we saw against Barnsley. Forest have to force these mistakes though; they will not come naturally. Barnsley made a habit of pressing the defence and winning the ball high up the pitch which inevitably lead to their winning goal.

Players like Alfa Semedo and Samba Sow have already shown this season that they are willing runners this season and have a responsibility to show this again. Having two powerful midfielders press this high may be the key to Fulham’s undoing.

Won on the wings

For all of his quality, Joe Bryan is a very attack-minded left-back which can leave spaces in behind the high Fulham backline. Likewise, Steven Sessegnon is also a defender that likes to venture forward.

Forest’s best chance of winning this game and hurting Fulham is using Matty Cash, Albert Adomah and Joe Lolley – some of the division’s best wingers – to take advantage of Bryan and Sessegnon’s high attacking drive.

However, they have to be equally aware of the danger the two full-backs can cause when they do get into those attacking positions; the quality of their deliveries into the box have already amounted to numerous goals this season.

Physically stronger

The Championship has always been and will remain a physical league. The Reds have, at their disposal, one of the most physically challenging teams in the division this season.

Sow and Semedo are quick, powerful and both reach over 6ft in the heart of midfield. In attack, they have Sammy Ameobi - measuring at nearly 6ft 5in –, Adomah at 6ft 1in and Grabban who stands at 6ft. For big players, they are unbelievably quick and a nightmare to defend against.

If the likes of Ameobi, Adomah and Grabban can peel to the back post and be found by the pinpoint delivery of Cash and Lolley, Fulham will find themselves in trouble more often than not.