Preston North End play host to Nottingham Forest at Deepdale on Saturday as the visitors look to go five games unbeaten.

Preston, who are sitting in 11th spot in the league, overcame Coventry City last time out with a convincing 2-0 win.

Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, are just one spot above the Championship's drop zone after securing a point away to Stoke City.

Match preview

Alex Neil's Preston come into this match off the back of three straight wins and will be confident of building on those fine displays to help them climb up the table.

Those three wins also come with the three clean sheets and although they have still conceded 30 goals so far this campaign - second only to Wycombe Wanderers - Neil will be pleased with his team's recent performances.

The Lilywhites have also managed to turn their abysmal home form on its head, and have won their last three home games to nil, overcoming Coventry City, Bristol City and Middlesbrough.

Neil's side currently sit fourth in the form table as they look back on a profitable end to the year, taking six wins from their last eight outings.

Forest fans will look back on 2020 as a largely forgettable year having seen their side struggle since missing out on promotion last season.

From beating Leeds in a memorable win back in February, to drawing with Stoke City in midweek, Forest's record in all competitions stands at won seven, drawn 14, lost 17 - a run of seven wins in 38 outings.

Still, Chris Hughton is making progress, and it is worth noting that four of those wins have come in the first 15 games of his tenure. They are also unbeaten in their last four, securing three draws and one win.

After more than 450 games in management, Hughton, who is now 62, looks to face the twin challenges of a fight to lead the club away from the relegation zone and a battle against the effects of COVID-19 restrictions.

Forest have also made things just a little bit harder for themselves by adding 14 players to a squad that had flirted with promotion last season.

Such an influx of new faces has seemingly created new problems, and 13 of those signings were made under Sabri Lamouchi, who was then sacked five games into the new campaign.

Hughton's men will now face Preston, followed by two home fixtures against Millwall and Middlesbrough - who have both been inconsistent of late - where they will hope to pick up results that will lead them clear of the bottom three.

Preston North End Championship form: DWLLWW

Nottingham Forest Championship form: LLWDDD

Team News

Preston have several injury concerns right now, with four players ruled out for this game with serious injuries.

Patrick Bauer has been ruled out for the entire season with an Achilles injury. Scott Sinclair, Ben Pearson and Billy Bodin are all out until mid-January, while Louis Moult is also set to miss out.

Nottingham Forest also have a handful of injuries to deal with coming into this match. Scott McKenna and Luke Freeman have been ruled out with an ankle and groin injury, respectively.

Jack Colback is also a doubt after suffering a knock and looks unlikely to feature.

Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Rudd; Fisher, Huntington, Davies, Earl; Browne, Ledson; Barkhuizen, Johnson, Harrop; Maguire

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Samba; Christie, Figueiredo, Worrall, Ribeiro; Yates, Sow; Lolley, Cafu, Knockaert; Taylor

We say: Preston North End 2-1 Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest are a better outfit than their league position suggests, but this should prove to be a tricky match for the Tricky Trees. Preston are in excellent form right now, and although their defence has been porous throughout the season, they could well find a way to score against Hughton's side. With that in mind, we are predicting a narrow home victory for the Lilywhites.

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