Coming into the start of the season, many would have predicted Nottingham Forest to be challenging for the Championship title, but they have somewhat struggled to maintain the pace with the top two.

Forest underwent a major overhaul during the summer and with numerous new additions arriving at the City Ground, fans were dreaming of promotion to the Premier League.

But Forest currently find themselves 11th in the Championship table, seven points adrift of Leeds, who currently occupy top spot.

Aitor Karanka's side have not started the season as they would have hoped to and will be keen to propel themselves up the table and challenging for the title. But they face a stiff challenge with numerous factors coming into play that may see them struggle in the race for the Premier League.

We look at the disadvantages they could face for the rest of the season....

Nottingham Forest are unbeaten currently at home and will be confident of maintaining that record in front of their fans. However, it is the away form that is a cause for concern for Aitor Karanka's men.

Forest have only picked up four points away from home this season and remain without a win on the road. They will need to start picking up points on their travels if they are to challenge anywhere near the top six in the Championship.

The likes of Leeds, Middlesbrough and West Brom are comfortably sweeping teams aside as they assert their dominance early on this season. We are yet to see that from Forest who are struggling against some of the league's so called "weaker teams" and are dropping vital points early in the season.

They have dropped points against the likes of Birmingham and Wigan, who they should arguably be beating, especially with the quality that this Forest side has this year.

There is always contrasting opinions when it comes to wanting the manager of the club to either stay or leave. Now this might not currently be a concern for any Nottingham Forest fans, as they are satisfied with Karanka's management of the team but what is to say that opinion can change?

No-one knows how long patient the owners are going to be with the manager if Karanka's side continue to struggle in games they should be winning. So there is always going to be a concern as to how much time Karanka will be given if the side start to struggle, and if he is dismissed, it could have a knock-on affect to the players for the rest of the season.