Morning all! I hope you had a lovely Christmas and are enjoying the weekend. While you might have had some time off for the festivities, the Forest and Birmingham players have had less than two days since their games on Boxing Day! With just half an hour until kickoff, let's get straight to the teams...

FOREST XI: Darlow; Lichaj, Mancienne, Lascelles, Fox; Paterson, Tesche, Lansbury, Antonio; Assombalonga, Fryatt
Subs: De Vries, Veldwijk, Hunt, Laing, Vaughan, Burke, Osborn

Stuart Pearce makes three changes to the side that were beaten at Boro on Friday. Kelvin Wilson was booked twice at the Riverside so has to sit this one out and is replaced by Jamaal Lascelles at centre-back. In midfield there's two alterations as Chris Burke and Ben Osborn come out for Jamie Paterson and Henri Lansbury.

BIRMINGHAM XI: Randolph; Caddis, Morrison, Robinson, Grounds; Davis, Gleeson; Cotterill, Shinnie, Gray; Donaldson
Subs: Doyle, Edgar, Thomas, Reilly, Zigic, Arthur, Moussi

Gary Rowett decides to go with the same starting XI that were trounced by Derby on Boxing Day.

So, what to make of those two teams? Well, I'm hoping that it will be an entertaining game with plenty of attacking talent on show. Forest, especially, have gone all out with two attack-minded wingers in Paterson and Antonio and two strikers with Fryatt and Assombalonga. Lansbury also loves to get forward from central midfield and that could mean that Tesche has to do a lot of covering and sweeping up behind. As for the Blues, they have been playing well of late if you ignore the last result. Rowett has found a good formula with these players and got the likes of Shinnie playing their best football for the club.

I mention Birmingham's improved form in the last couple of months under Rowett and here's a stat to prove it - The Blues have won as many games in their last eight fixtures as they recorded in their previous 32.

Forest have had a completely different season, starting superbly but falling away from the top in the last three months. Pearce's men are without a win in five attempts and have won just two of their last 16 games in the Championship.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the Championship table at the halfway mark of the season. Forest are 10th on 31 points, seven adrift of the playoffs and 14 behind league leaders Bournemouth. If they lose today, then Birmingham will join them on 31, a total that the four clubs between 10th and 13th have.

Forest have only been beaten twice at home this season, but they have drawn more games than they've won at the City Ground. Birmingham will take confidence from that and will hope to continue their decent away form - they've kept a clean sheet in three of their last four away games.

PREDICTION: Just 10 minutes until kickoff in the East Midlands, so let's make a prediction. Like I said below, I'm hoping for an entertaining affair and am going to back Forest to win 3-2.

There were real concerns that this game might not be able to go ahead after the snow on Friday and Saturday. The City Ground looked like this not long ago, but the groundstaff have worked well to clear the snow from the playing surface and the sun is shining brightly today.

Looking at our readers' poll on this game's match preview, 54.1% of you think that Forest will win today, with 24.3% fancying a draw and 21.6% going for an away win.

Here come the teams at the City Ground. Who will end their year on a high? Or will both managers be frustrated and only take home a point?

REFEREE WATCH: Today's referee is Simon Hooper.

KICKOFF! It's almost a sell-out at the City Ground and a brilliant atmosphere as the Blues get us underway.

Forest are clearly buoyed by the electric atmosphere and close Birmingham down quickly inside the first few seconds.

CLOSE! Chances at both ends and just the sort of start I was hoping for. Antonio uses his superior pace to burst past Grounds down the right before his low cross is parried away by Blues keeper Randolph. Forest had plenty forward and Birmingham are able to break as Cotterill streaks forward from near his own box right up to the Forest area, where he decides to shoot and fizzes a low effort wide of the near post.

OFF THE LINE! I said before kickoff how attacking Forest's lineup was and Birmingham are looking to break whenever they can. Shinnie plays the ball into the pacey Gray, who surges into the area and has a shot blocked by Mancienne. The ball loops up and is going in when a combination of Darlow and Lascelles on the line manage to tip it over for a corner.

SHOT! It's Gray again with an effort for Birmingham. He does well to work some space on the edge of the box, but perhaps should have passed to Cotterill on the right instead of blasting high and wide.

Barring that dangerous Antonio cross, it's been a superb start from Birmingham, who are looking to improve their good recent record at the City Ground - they've only lost one of their last six trips to Forest.

UPDATE: By the way, there's also a Premier League game that kicked off at midday and if you want to follow Spurs versus Man Utd then open this link in a new tab to join my good friend Barney Corkhill. I'll keep you posted with any goals from White Hart Lane.

Forest have had slightly more of the ball early on (53%), but they're yet to have a shot, while Birmingham have had four.

Antonio wins the home side a free kick in a good position and Lansbury's delivery is flicked goalwards by Lascelles. He gets too much on it, though, and the ball loops a good few yards wide.

SHOT! Forest have their first effort on goal, with Lansbury bending the ball wide after a neat one-two with Antonio.

CHANCE! Decent opportunity for Fryatt at the back post as he gets up to meet Antonio's inswinging cross. The striker didn't quite time his jump right, though, and heads over. Better from Forest in the last five minutes.

Darlow is a little winded after colliding with Grounds when claiming Cotterill's deep free kick. Good goalkeeping from the Forest man and nice honest play as he doesn't complain about the harsh, but fair challenge.

It's interesting to see Antonio starting on the right, not the left. Most times this season he has played on the left, looking to cut inside, but today he's using his pace to surge down the wing and get balls in. Forest certainly use him as the go-to guy, with Paterson on the other wing barely seeing the ball so far.

Lansbury disappoints by firing a cross-cum-shot wide of the goal after doing well to roll his man in the area. Birmingham had the best of the opening 10, but it's been largely Forest on the attack since.

Half-hearted shouts of "handball!" from the Birmingham fans as Gray's shot takes a deflection and pops up to hit Lascelles. The players don't even appeal and it clearly strikes the Forest defender on the torso.

Tesche, who scored a fabulous goal at the City Ground against Charlton Athletic earlier this month, has a go from distance but doesn't catch it cleanly and drags the ball wide.

Cotterill with an extremely ambitious effort from at least 30 yards. He saw that Darlow was a little out of position and tried to fire the ball over the keeper and into the far corner. He didn't get enough height on it and Darlow was able to make a comfortable save.

Forest want a free kick on the edge of the box as Antonio tumbles and they certainly have a case as Morrison missed the ball and nastily grazed his studs all over the winger's ankle. Davis did come away with the ball, but not before the nasty tackle from Morrison which should have earned him at least a booking.

JUST WIDE! Best chance of the match as Assombalonga gets to the byline and produces a cross-shot that Randolph toes out to the edge of the box. Lansbury hits a first time volley that is on target until a deflection sees it loop agonisinglly wide of the post.

MISS! Terrible from Mancienne as he somehow heads over from six yards. All he had to do was get it on target as Randolph was just behind him trying to punch clear. Really bad miss, that.

BOOKING! First yellow card of the game is shown to Lansbury for taking out Gray on the left wing. That'll see him miss Forest's next game.

The deadlock is broken and it's a poor goal for Forest to concede as Cotterill's low free kick somehow misses everyone in the box to nestle in the net. Darlow didn't know where it was and couldn't keep it out.

Nightmare for Forest as they fall two behind and again it's a very avoidable goal to concede. Birmingham win a corner and they take it quickly with Forest off-guard. Cotterill receives the ball hits a similar low shot into a crowded penalty area that again finds the far corner. It looks like a second for the winger, but it's actually Donaldson's goal as replays show that he got a slight flick that ensured it finished inside the far post. Was he offside, though? It's very close and perhaps you need to give the benefit of the doubt to the attacker.

"PENALTY!" scream the Forest fans and players as Antonio tumbles under the challenge of Shinnie in the box. It was certainly a little clumsy from the Birmingham man, but not enough to warrant a penalty.

What a crazy five minutes that was! Birmingham scored two quick goals and Forest almost responded with a couple of goalmouth scrambles.

And another! What a brilliant 10 minutes for the Blues. They open up what is surely an unassailable lead with a fortunate third as Shinnie is allowed to cut inside and get off a shot far too easily. Darlow parries it out but puts it back into the danger zone where the ball hits Mancienne and bounces kindly for Donaldson to scramble home for his second goal. Mad.

Two minutes added on at the end of the first half.

OFF THE BAR! Wow! That is so unlucky! Tesche has just ripped a ridiculous volley goalwards that cannoned down off the underside of the bar in the top corner. Had it gone in it would have absolutely been goal of the season. What a strike!

Well, what a barmy final 10 minutes to the first half. It had been pretty even for the first 35, but Birmingham have blown Forest away with three goals.

I wonder what Pearce is saying to his players at the moment. All three goals have been poor ones to concede and it's noticeable just how little confidence this Forest side have at the moment.

If you're only just joining us and want a brief summary of the opening 45, check out our half-time report.

Looking at the stats, it's clear to see that Forest just aren't firing in attack. According to WhoScored.com, they've had 12 shots - one more than Birmingham - but got none on target!

The key moment for the home side was when Mancienne somehow failed to head under the crossbar moments before Birmingham took the lead. All he had to do was hit the target with Randolph out of position, but he seemed to be a little afraid of the Blues keeper trying to punch the ball and didn't fully focus on making decent contact with the header.

So, as things stand, Birmingham will be moving up to 14th and joining Forest on 31 points from 24 games.

No changes at the break, which is a little surprising given the Forest collapse. However, their XI is an attacking one and it's not too difficult to imagine them pulling off a miraculous comeback. However, as I mentioned earlier, Birmingham have kept three clean sheets in their last four away games.

KICKOFF! The home side get us underway. Can they get back into the game? They'll need an early goal.

SIDE-NETTING! And they almost get one! Some pressure down the left results in a deep cross being headed back into the danger area by Antonio. Randolph punches more up than away and Lichaj's header to the far post is met on the volley by Paterson, who can only find the side-netting from a tight angle.

A rocket of a shot from Lichaj, but it was always rising and Randolph is confident enough to watch it fizz over his head and clear the crossbar.

Fantastic defending from on-loan defender Morrison, who is set to join the Blues on a permanent deal from Charlton later this week. He positioned himself really well to cut out Antonio's cross with Fryatt waiting just behind to tap home.

MISS! Forest aren't going to score today! It's another awful miss from a corner as Tesche somehow flicks it wide from close range. The corner came after more pressure in the box resulted in Paterson's shot deflecting up and wide.

You can tell that Pearce gave his players a real roasting during the interval. They are playing with so much passion, but just can't find a way past this stubborn Blue defence.

Today's attendance at the City Ground is 26,212, with 1,865 Blues fans having the time of their life in the away end.

It opens up for Mancienne about 25 yards out and he's urged to shoot by the home crowd. He gets it on target, but it's an easy save for Randolph. In fact, that's the first time he's been tested all game!

Forest continue to have all of the play in the second half and have another chance as Lansbury's deep corner finds Paterson in loads of space at the back post. He tries a difficult first-time volley and gets it all wrong.

FOREST SUB: First change of the game as Paterson is replaced by Burke, who comes on to face his former club. Burke is much more comfortable on the right, so Antonio will probably switch wings and go out to the left.

Antonio is extremely lucky not to be booked after venting his frustration at referee Hooper. He felt that a tackle from Morrison which ended up in Randolph's arms was a backpass, but I'm not quite sure he's right. Would have been very harsh on the Blues' defender.

TACKLE! Morrison has had a great game in defence for Birmingham and he's just made a hugely important sliding tackle to prevent Antonio streaking clear on goal. Had he got that wrong he would have been sent off. Brilliant defending.

Antonio again gets away with some poor discipline after needlessly tripping up Caddis, who was about to concede a throw-in in a good position for the Blues. Antonio has probably been Forest's best player this season, either him or Mancienne, but he's having no luck today.

Disappointing from Burke as he only manages to cross straight into Randolph's hands from a good position down the right.

Birmingham's fans are really rubbing it in here. Forest continue to create chances, but they can't do anything from them and every time they miss or fail to meet a cross, the Blues fans are jeering them in delight. It must be horrible to be a Forest fan at the City Ground.

BIRMINGHAM SUB: Rowett makes his first change, taking off Shinnie for Callum Reilly.

SHOT! Birmingham almost make it four as Cotterill travels down the right and comes inside before curling a left-foot effort that's too close to Darlow. Easy save for the Forest keeper.

BOOKING! Donaldson is just beaten to the ball by Mancienne and then clatters into the Forest defender with a high foot. Nasty tackle and that's his first booking of the season.

SAVE! Neat turn from Blues teenager Gray and he gets away from a couple of red shirts before curling for the far corner where Darlow beats it out.

FOREST SUB: Attack-minded change from Pearce as he takes off left-back Fox for forward Veldwijk.

BIRMINGHAM SUB: The impressive Cotterill comes off to be replaced by giant striker Nikola Zigic.

Zigic gets involved quickly with some neat interplay with Gray before shooting at goal with his left foot and seeing his effort deflected up and wide of the target.

To be fair to Forest, they did come out all guns blazing after the break, but they couldn't quite get the goal that might have sparked a comeback. Since then, the game has lost all its fizz and we're now just waiting for the full-time whistle. Birmingham are going to leave with the points.

CLOSE! The visitors are close to a fourth as Gray is given plenty of room to run into by Lascelles. The Forest defender is showing him onto his left foot and he eventually takes that option before hitting a scrappy effort wide of the target.

BIRMINGHAM SUB: Third and final change for the on-top visitors as Gray is taken off for Moussi, who gets a warm reception from the Forest fans as he used to play in red and white.

SAVE! Forest have understandably given up and if there's one team who's going to score the fourth it will be Birmingham. Darlow makes a good stop at the near post to prevent Davis scoring it.

FOREST SUB: Pearce with his final sub as Osborn replaces Lansbury.

SAVE! Donaldson is close to his first Birmingham hat-trick as he charges in on goal but can't beat Darlow from a tight angle.

Three more minutes of pain for Forest.

The home side finally score as Assombalonga rises well at the back post to plant a header home after Osborn's deep cross. It's far too late for the hosts, surely.

So it's Birmingham who end 2014 on a high with another impressive win under Gary Rowett. The visitors were far more clinical than Forest, scoring three goals in the final 10 minutes of the first half to settle it. Forest look completely bereft of confidence and it's now just two wins in their last 17 league games.

Victory sends Birmingham up to 14th and level on points with Forest, who stay 10th but could drop into the bottom half depending on other results today, tomorrow and Tuesday.

Time for us to say goodbye, thanks for joining SM this afternoon. Click around for loads more live coverage, including Premier League and more this afternoon. In the Championship, we'll be covering the game between Blackburn Rovers and Middlesbrough from 2.30pm, so look out for that!