Middlesbrough boss Jonathan Woodgate has been impressed with the way Sabri Lamouchi has got Nottingham Forest playing this season.
The Reds take on Boro at the City Ground this evening in the latest instalment of the Sky Bet Championship.
Lamouchi has so far guided Forest to fifth place in his first season in charge of the club, and will be keen to climb the table in the weeks and months to come.
Woodgate is also in his first year as Boro boss, replacing Tony Pulis who left the Riverside at the end of last season.
Both managers are having contrasting starts to their roles, with Boro struggling at the bottom end of the Championship and just four points above the relegation zone.
But a win over Charlton Athletic at the weekend has instilled belief in the Boro squad going into tonight’s showdown on Trentside.
Woodgate has praised the quality of the Forest players, and the club’s style of play under Lamouchi this term.
"They played a different shape and left Grabban on the bench, they rested quite a few really: (Joe) Lolley, (Albert) Adomah, they're a good team," Woodgate told Teesside Live .
"He's got them set up well and they've got players who can make a real difference going forward.
"It's tough, they're well coached. They have a good, good team. It's no easy place to go, but we're positive.
"We're really confident. We were confident after Barnsley and Hull. Leeds are a top team but the way we've been doing recently, I think we're doing really well.
"We're climbing up the table, OK it's small steps but we'll hopefully get a result against Forest."
