Nottingham Forest are currently preparing to make the short trip across the East Midlands to face bitter rivals Derby County in what promises to be a tantalising clash.

Philippe Montanier gets his first taste of derby day action in England on the back of three successive wins whilst Steve McClaren's Derby County have won five on the bounce.

Both teams are in-form and climbing the table after stuttering starts and this should be a tightly contested match with high stakes.

Montanier has had since last Friday's exciting late win over league leaders Newcastle to mull over his options for their visit to the iPro Stadium.

One of the biggest dilemmas he is left facing is who to start up front.

There is certainly a viable case to be made for all three of their strikers: Nicklas Bendtner, Apostolos Vellios and Britt Assombalonga.

Nottingham Forest only play with one man up front normally so these three fine forwards will be scrapping it out for that sole spot and each will be desperate to be given the nod ahead of the others.

Montanier could look to continuity and select Nicklas Bendtner.

The infamous former Arsenal forward provided a good physical target in the box against Newcastle and would certainly be a handful for Richard Keogh and Alex Pearce.

After scoring the equaliser for Forest last Friday, Bendtner's confidence will be high going into this upcoming match and he is certainly someone who can perform if his tail is up.

Alternatively, Montanier could revert back to the man he has used quite frequently this season in Apostolos Vellios.

With six league goals to his name, the 24-year-old is the joint top scorer at Nottingham Forest and this goal threat might work to his favour.

The Greek international forward offers more mobility than Bendtner and has also had his special moments this year.

Finally, Montanier could (and in my opinion should) select Britt Assombalonga as his striker on Sunday.

The 24-year-old is returning to his best form after a long lay-off and he is Forest's most naturally gifted attacker.

Assombalonga offers more pace than Keogh or Pearce would be able to deal with, as well as strength and an eye for goal.

If the former Watford and Peterborough striker is fully fit, then this seems like a no-brainer for me.

Nottingham Forest fans - do you agree? Who would you start up front this weekend? Let us know in the comments below...