Derby County boss Phillip Cocu has revealed what he finds most dangerous about Nottingham Forest, ahead of this weekend's clash at Pride Park.

Bitter rivals Derby and Forest face off for the third time this season this weekend, with Forest looking to emerge as victors for the third time this campaign.

The Reds defeated the Rams in the second round of the Carabao Cup back in August, and a Lewis Grabban goal proved to be the difference in the league fixture back in November.

Do these 11 celebrities support Nottingham Forest?

Since then, though, Derby have made huge strides of improvement, and five wins from their last five games have seen them climb to seventh, just one point off sixth.

Forest are a team to be feared, though, with a top-six finish looking likely for Sabri Lamouchi's side, who sit fourth in the league table.

Speaking ahead of this weekend's clash at Pride Park, Cocu has identified what he finds most dangerous about this weekend's opponents.

Speaking to Rams TV, Cocu said: "Many teams have the same feeling I think, when they play Forest. That’s the greatest strength of Forest.

“They give you the feeling that you’re playing well against them, that you’re in the game and at any moment they can score a goal and it’s really extremely hard to beat them when they go up one nil.

“(They have) very good organisation, very good defence and still dangerous in the counter-attack."

Derby dominated for large parts of the league fixture back in November, but a Jayden Bogle mistake led to Grabban punishing the Rams and slotting home to secure a 1-0 win.

The Verdict

This promises to be a really exciting game this weekend between two bitter rivals both gunning for a top-six finish.

Derby's rise has been incredible considering where they were in around January time, and the arrival of Wayne Rooney has really made a massive impact.

There are never a huge amount of goals between Derby and Forest in the league, so I predict a narrow win for either one of these sides this weekend.