This article is part of Football League World's 'The Verdict' series, which provides personal opinions from the FLW writers regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more...

Bournemouth host Nottingham Forest this evening in arguably the biggest game in the Championship this season.

Steve Cooper's visitors have won nine of their last ten in the league, and are three points behind the second placed Cherries with a better goal difference.

Bournemouth have stuttered since the opening few months of the season but will arrive at the Vitality Stadium in the driving seat regardless.

We gathered the thoughts of a selection of FLW writers do see how they believe the match will pan out...

Carla Devine

This is a really hard one to call since it’s a game that means so much for both sides and could be the difference between automatic promotion and the play-offs.

Bournemouth haven’t lost a game since the start of April and they have also shown in recent weeks they have the ability to come back from behind and make sure they don’t leave a game empty-handed.

Forest have won their last four games and come into the game on the back of a massive 5-1 win at the weekend which will surely boost their confidence.

However, the last game they lost was against Luton who are another play-off team suggesting that the pressure could get to them.

This will be a very tight affair and could go either way but I’m going to say Bournemouth will edge it slightly just as they have the home advantage and have been able to gain promotion before.

Simmey Hannifin-Donaldson

What a tie this could be tonight.

It has all the makings of a Championship classic and I can see there being goals at both ends.

Having said that, I'm backing Nottingham Forest to pick up an away victory - setting up a tantalising final day in the Championship on Saturday.

I just feel like Forest have nothing to lose and so will be able to play the match with much greater freedom than their opponents, who in some ways, have it all to lose given they are the chased rather than the chasing and the ones currently in the promotion places.

2-1 win for Forest.

 

 

Declan Harte

This game is going to be massive, it is almost a play-off final in its own right.

That makes predicting a winner so difficult, but is also why this game will be such an occasion.

Forest definitely have the momentum going into the tie, with Bournemouth having stalled out in recent weeks.

It would be easy to sit on the fence and call this game a draw, but the most interesting option is if Forest do bring it to the final day with both sides level on points.

And given how the side is playing recently, it’s hard not to back them so, for those reasons, a Forest win is the most likely outcome.