David Prutton has predicted a share of the spoils when Stoke City round off 2020 by hosting Nottingham Forest at the Bet365 Stadium.

Michael O'Neill's team come into the game having kept seven clean sheets in their previous eight Championship matches, although the Potters have only managed three victories during that time.

Despite their number of draws, Stoke are just two points adrift of sixth-placed Reading and know that victory will ensure they end the year inside the play-offs, as long as the Royals fail to beat Swansea.

Meanwhile, Forest are improving slightly under Chris Hughton, and will arrive in the Potteries looking to extend their unbeaten run to four matches.

Hughton's side were frustrated against Birmingham City on Boxing Day, although with East Midlands rivals Derby losing and Rotherham not in action, it was enough to move the City Ground outfit two points clear of the bottom-three.

 

Quiz: Did these 20 things happen to Stoke City in 2020?

 

 

However, all of Forest's previous three wins have come at home, whilst more than 60 percent of their points earned this season have come at the City Ground.

Here's what Prutton told Sky Sports ahead of the clash: "Though Michael O'Neill's men probably haven't won as many games as they'd have imagined, they've been almost unbeatable over the last month, with seven clean sheets from the last eight.

"Such a strong defence may hamper a Forest side who are starting to put their unexpected slide towards the relegation zone behind them, but have found goals very hard to come by, for the most part, this season. I'm going for an engaging, yet low-scoring, draw."

The Verdict

Whilst Forest have picked up some form in recent matches, I expect Stoke to take the points here.

However, goals have been hard to come by since the injury to Tyrese Campbell, so it'll be a hard-earned win for the Potters in what I believe will be another low-scoring affair.