Nottingham Forest play host to Middlesbrough in the Championship on Wednesday evening with Chris Hughton fighting to save his job at the City Ground.
While Forest sit bottom without a victory, Boro are down in 15th position in the standings after a four-match winless streak.
Match preview
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Having not conceded more than two goals during a Championship fixture this season, there is an argument that Hughton should be given time to get things right at the other end of the pitch.
However, that is not an opinion shared among the Forest fanbase, who were left increasingly frustrated as Cardiff City came from behind to earn a 2-1 triumph on Sunday afternoon.
Lewis Grabban, playing in a deeper role than usual, finally netted his first goal of the campaign, but Forest were ultimately undone by opponents who showed a greater desire to win.
Hughton finds himself in a position where he will either lose his job or frequently have to fend off questions about his future, a natural consequence when a club the size of Forest sit at the bottom of the table.
Nevertheless, the East Midlands outfit are just four points adrift of 18th spot, and there is a window of opportunity for a change in fortunes against an under-performing Boro.
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Ahead of games with Derby County, Blackburn Rovers and Coventry City, Neil Warnock would have been confident of collecting a significant number of points to keep his side moving in the right direction.
However, two drab draws were followed by a 2-0 defeat at the Ricoh Arena on Saturday afternoon, leaving Warnock will much to ponder ahead of their upcoming fixtures.
On paper, Boro could not have asked for a more favourable schedule, but Warnock will recognise that the pressure has been increased several levels after losing to the Sky Blues.
While just four players have scored for Boro this season, Warnock will be more concerned that their only clean sheet has come against a misfiring Derby attack.
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Team News
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With Hughton inevitably contemplating making changes to his Forest XI, Joe Lolley and Alex Mighten are both in contention for a recall.
Joao Carvalho is an option in a creative position, but Hughton may eventually settle on just the one alteration.
Martin Payero is unlikely to return for Boro due to an ankle injury, while Warnock may opt against taking any risks on Paddy McNair and Marc Bola.
However, Andraz Sporar should make his first start for the club, potentially alongside Duncan Watmore in attack.
Sol Bamba will be assessed after playing the full 90 minutes at the weekend as a late replacement for McNair.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Spence, McKenna, Worrall, Lowe; Yates, Garner; Zinckernagel, Mighten, Johnson; Grabban
Middlesbrough possible starting lineup:
Lumley; Fry, Hall, Bamba; Dijksteel, Crooks, Howson, Tavernier, Jones; Watmore, Sporar
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-1 Middlesbrough
Hughton has little option but to throw caution to the wind on Wednesday, hoping that taking risks pays off for himself and his side.
While Boro possess the quality to repel whatever Forest throw at them, we are still backing the home team to finally get a win on the board.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Middlesbrough win with a probability of 44.37%. A win for Nottingham Forest had a probability of 28.61% and a draw had a probability of 27%.
The most likely scoreline for a Middlesbrough win was 0-1 with a probability of 12.15%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (8.79%) and 0-2 (8.38%). The likeliest Nottingham Forest win was 1-0 (9.26%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (12.76%). The actual scoreline of 0-2 was predicted with an 8.4% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Middlesbrough would win this match.
