Leeds United will be looking to bounce back from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at home to Wigan against promotion rivals Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Sabri Lamouchi’s men have been in good form recently, gradually closing the gap behind Leeds in recent weeks, although they failed to capitalise on United’s loss at the weekend, letting an early lead slip and being defeated 2-1 at Birmingham.
Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites have now lost three of their last four matches in the league while another defeat in Saturday’s early evening kick-off at the City Ground could see Fulham move level on points with Leeds, having enjoyed an 11-point lead shortly before Christmas.
It would also see Forest and potentially Brentford and Bristol City all move within two points of Leeds by the end of the weekend.
Kalvin Phillips serves the last of a three-match suspension for the trip, while Adam Forshaw isn’t expected to return to midfield, but how are the opposition shaping up?
Injuries
Tendayi Darikwa
The Zimbabwe international, who can player either on the right wing or at right-back, is the club’s only long-term injury concern.
He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in pre-season and remains out for the foreseeable future. There’s no chance he’ll be back for this one, although with an original six-month absence diagnosed, he could potentially have a role to play in the run-in for Forest.
Samba Sow
The Forest faithful will no doubt be sweating on the fitness of Sow, who has been an integral part of their strong campaign this season, featuring in the midfield engine room alongside Ben Watson when fit.
He missed Saturday’s 2-1 defeat at Birmingham, and generally their off-days tend to coincide with his absences, their points per game ratio dramatically falling when he’s not in the team.
Only Hull’s Kevin Stewart averages more tackles in the Championship this season, and his influence is arguably comparable to that of Kalvin Phillips at Leeds.
But it was just a knock that kept him out, and Lamouchi is hopeful he’ll return for Saturday.
“He had a problem with his knee and we can’t play with players not at 100 percent,” said the Forest chief.
“I don’t think it is serious. I hope it is not serious. I hope he will be ready for the next game.”
Suspensions
Forest currently have no players suspended, with no players in their squad receiving more than six bookings to date and just one red card back in November.
