Nottingham Forest will be desperate to extend their winning running this weekend as they face an in-form Hull City side at the City Ground.

The visitors may have gone unbeaten in their last six games, winning 14 points from a possible 18 during this period, but Forest are currently 11 places above them and are doing well themselves, only losing one of their opening 14 matches under Steve Cooper.

A 4-1 victory in South Wales against Swansea City at the weekend will leave them full of confidence as they head into this game, dismantling Russell Martin's men on their own patch and seeing this result guide them to eighth place in the Championship table.

 

 

Considering they were bottom of the table earlier on in the season and had won just one point from a possible 21 under Chris Hughton at the beginning of the campaign, this is a remarkable turnaround and they won't want to stop their rise up the table anytime soon.

Under a man of Cooper's pedigree, with the 42-year-old guiding Swansea to consecutive play-off finishes before his departure in the summer, there's no reason why they can't continue their momentum tomorrow afternoon.

However, they will be tasked with keeping the likes of Keane Lewis-Potter and George Honeyman quiet in their quest to win all three points, a task they can't take lightly if they want to win all three points.

Focusing on tomorrow's home side though, we take a look at how they could line up against the Tigers.

Ethan Horvath came in to provide genuine competition to Brice Samba in the Forest goal, but the latter remains as one of the first names on the teamsheet under Steve Cooper so it would be a surprise to see him come out of the lineup today.

Scott McKenna and Joe Worrall are nailed-on starters as usual after proving their worth yet again this season as two of the club's most important players - and they take their place alongside Ryan Yates who played at centre-back last weekend and did a decent enough job in a makeshift position.

Even with Tobias Figueiredo re-joining training this week, Yates is likely to retain his starting spot.

Jordi Osei-Tutu also starts this weekend, with Forest able to play two orthodox wing-backs after his return at the Swansea.com Stadium. How long they can keep him fit for remains to be seen - but the Reds' fans will be hoping to see him avoid another severe injury this season.

Another man whose availability for the club will be questioned as we approach January is Djed Spence with a potential recall on the cards, but he has been a reliable figure and Cooper will want to make full use of the 21-year-old whilst he still has him at his disposal.

Yates' deployment at centre-back allows Jack Colback and James Garner to partner each other in midfield once again, although it would be good to see Braian Ojeda be given a chance to shine again soon. He certainly hasn't let anyone down when he's played.

There is one slight tweak up top though with Philip Zinckernagel and Lewis Grabban switching roles. Having the duo in their more natural positions makes sense and would certainly help to mix things up a bit.

Spence and Brennan Johnson were deadly down the right-hand side last Saturday and played a crucial part for Grabban's goal last time out. More of the same would please supporters at the City Ground.