Nottingham Forest have been backed to beat Derby County this evening by former Reds midfielder, David Prutton. 

Both these sides head into the East Midlands derby after a tough start to the season. Forest have axed Sabri Lamouchi and now have Chris Hughton in-charge, with the new boss recording the side's only points of the campaign so far.

In terms of Derby, they are struggling under Phillip Cocu. A fifth defeat in just six fixtures came on Tuesday evening at Huddersfield Town.

Quiz: Do Nottingham Forest and Derby County have these 10 things in common?

 

Ahead of the game, Prutton has given his weekly predictions to Sky Sports, where he's gone for a 2-1 win for Forest at the City Ground.

He wrote: "There's rarely a dull moment at either of these clubs and work for both to do this season. They both have so much Championship experience and should really be aiming for the top six.

"Nottingham Forest are travelling in the right direction under Chris Hughton, and with Wayne Rooney missing for Derby I can't see past a home win."

Forest enter the fixture in 20th, with Derby currently occupying a spot in the bottom-three. Defeat for either leaves them at risk of finishing the weekend in the relegation zone.

The Verdict

It's a tough game to call, this one.

Derby are missing key personnel and that does leave Forest as favourites at home. However, their form has been patchy all season and they are only just starting to scrape together results.

Given that the game is at the City Ground, I'd probably edge towards a home win.

Thoughts? Let us know!