Nottingham Forest will embark on a new era this weekend as they travel to face Brighton & Hove Albion at the Amex Stadium for what is Dougie Freedman's first match in charge of the club.

Legendary former player Stuart Pearce's reign lasted just seven months before he was sacked following a dire run of form that saw the promotion hopefuls win just three times in 23 matches.

A 1-0 home defeat at the hands of lowly Millwall, their sixth loss in seven matches, proved to be the final straw for chairman and owner Fawaz Al-Hasawi having seen his side slip from top of the Championship table down to 12th place.

Indeed, they are now closer to the relegation zone than they are to the playoffs, and the upheaval at the club is unlikely to help them in the immediate future.

In addition to a number of the club's hierarchy and backroom staff leaving, Forest have also been placed under a full transfer embargo having missed the due date for the latest instalment of Britt Assombalonga's summer transfer fee.

New boss Freedman, who struggled at Bolton Wanderers before being sacked earlier this season, has spoken of his desire to get Forest's playoff push back on track, but he will not be able to add to his squad when the loan window re-opens next week unless the outstanding money is paid to Peterborough United.

Only goal difference separates 12th-placed Forest from 17th-placed Huddersfield Town in a congested mid-table battle, and any failure from Freedman to hit the ground running could see Forest slip worryingly close to the relegation zone alarmingly quickly.

Freedman is likely to want to stamp his authority on the team and therefore could make a few changes to the side that was beaten by Millwall, although the likes of Assombalonga and Michail Antonio - the latter of whom is on a 12-match goal drought - are expected to start.

Andy Reid and Chris Cohen both remain sidelined for the visitors, however, as they look to pick up just their third away victory since August.

As for Brighton, they also find themselves in a less-than-satisfactory position, hovering perilously close to the bottom three in 21st place.

Last weekend was a particularly damaging one for the Seagulls, whose recent improvement came to a shuddering halt with a 1-0 defeat at bottom-of-the-table Blackpool.

Most of the teams around them in the table also picked up positive results, leaving Chris Hughton's side just two points clear of danger despite three victories in their last five games.

The loss to Blackpool would have been especially disappointing for Brighton as it came off the back of two encouraging results that saw them beat high-flying Ipswich Town and run FA Cup holders Arsenal close in the fourth round.

This will be their first home match since that win over Ipswich, and Hughton will be desperate to make it back-to-back victories at the Amex for the first time this season. However, they have only kept one clean sheet in their last 11 games in front of their own fans.

He will be joined in the dugout for the first time by new assistant manager Colin Calderwood, but changes on the field are expected to be kept to a minimum despite the disappointing nature of their last outing.

Brighton:

Form in Championship: DWWLWL
Form in all competitions: WWLWLL

Possible starting lineup: Stockdale; Calderon, Dunk, Greer, Bennett; Baldock, Ince, March, Forster-Caskey, Holla; O'Grady

Nottm Forest:

Form in Championship: LLLWLL
Form in all competitions: LLLWLL

Possible starting lineup: De Vries; Kane, Wilson, Mancienne, Lichaj; Tesche, Osborn, Lansbury, Gardner, Antonio; Assombalonga

Sports Mole says: 1-1