Steve Cooper begins his Nottingham Forest reign with a Championship fixture at home to Millwall on Saturday afternoon.
Forest sit just four points adrift of the visitors, whose three successive draws have left them down in 17th position in the standings.
Match preview
© Reuters
With a win to their name and a new manager in the dugout, it is all change at Nottingham Forest as they bid to move out of the relegation zone.
Having been prepared to pay compensation in order to secure the services of Cooper, the club's hierarchy will feel that they are showing the necessary ambition to eventually challenge for the playoffs in the future.
However, despite the mood improving at the City Ground on the back of the triumph at Huddersfield Town, no-one can afford to get ahead of themselves during a crucial period under Cooper.
Then-caretaker boss Steven Reid switched to a back three at the John Smith's Stadium, likely on the understanding that Cooper would be using his tried-and-trusted system upon his arrival.
Lewis Grabban netted his second goal in three matches, potentially a sign that the 32-year-old is ready to kick-start his campaign under the guidance of a different boss.
© Reuters
Millwall are already at a stage where they require a catalyst of their own after posting three successive draws in the second tier.
The Lions have now shared the spoils in five of their eight league encounters, a solitary win over Blackpool keeping Gary Rowett's team above the drop zone.
While Rowett will argue that avoiding defeat on a regular basis will keep Millwall out of trouble, supporters will counter that by stating with justification that little has changed from last season.
On a positive note, two of their recent stalemates have come against West Bromwich Albion and Coventry City, teams currently occupying a place in the top four.
A much-changed side bowed out of the EFL Cup on Wednesday as Leicester City prevailed 2-0 at The Den.
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- D
- L
- L
- W
- L
- L
- W
- D
- D
- D
- W
- W
- D
- D
- D
- L
Team News
© Reuters
Barring any late fitness issues, Cooper may see no reason to make any changes to the team which defeated Huddersfield.
Alex Mighten is an alternative to Joe Lolley in the final third, but Cooper will be reluctant to tinker with his defence and midfield.
Rowett could revert back to the Millwall XI which started the 1-1 draw against high-flying Coventry last weekend.
Bartosz Bialkowski, Daniel Ballard, Murray Wallace, Maikel Kieftenbeld, George Saville, Scott Malone, Jed Wallace and Matt Smith all dropped out of the side for the Leicester tie.
With Tom Bradshaw failing to score during the last two fixtures, Benik Afobe could also return in attack.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Worrell, Figueiredo, McKenna; Spence, Yates, Garner, Lowe; Lolley, Johnson; Grabban
Millwall possible starting lineup:
Bialkowski; Ballard, Wallace, Cooper; Leonard, Kieftenbeld, Saville, Malone; Wallace, Smith; Afobe
We say: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Millwall
Cooper will be determined to get off to a positive start in front of an expectant crowd. Nevertheless, he will likely settle for simply avoiding defeat, and Millwall's recent form suggests that a low-scoring draw is the most likely result.
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 Millwall win with a probability of 40.61%. A win for Nottingham Forest had a probability of 30.14% and a draw had a probability of 29.3%.
The most likely scoreline for a Millwall win was 0-1 with a probability of 13.65%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (8.08%) and 1-2 (7.88%). The likeliest Nottingham Forest win was 1-0 (11.26%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (13.32%). The actual scoreline of 1-1 was predicted with a 13.3% likelihood.
