Preview: Nottingham Forest vs. Queens Park Rangers -

Nottingham Forest and Queens Park Rangers do battle on Monday at the City Ground, with both sides looking to build on victories on Good Friday.

The hosts broke a six-game winless run with a victory over Cardiff City, moving them up to 16th spot in the Championship table, while QPR comfortably defeated Coventry City at home to maintain their top-half position.

Match preview

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Nottingham Forest picked up an impressive 1-0 win over Cardiff City last time out, as Manchester United loanee James Garner netted the winner after 29 minutes.

That put an end to a run of six Championship games without a win for Chris Hughton 's side, having picked up just three points in those matches.

However, they are showing signs of improvement, with that recent win preceded by an impressive 1-1 draw away at third-placed Brentford, as Filip Krovinovic netted a second-half equaliser following an early Ivan Toney penalty.

With a ten-point gap between themselves and 22nd-placed Rotherham United, Hughton will feel that his side are almost certainly safe from the drop, although he will still be looking to secure another important victory to climb further away from the bottom three.

This promises to be a tough game for the City Ground outfit though, as QPR come into the match with four wins from their last six league outings.

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Mark Warburton 's side recorded a dominant 3-0 victory over Coventry City on Good Friday, sealing a fourth win from six Championship games for the London club.

It took them less than two minutes to go ahead, as Chris Willock found the net before a Michael Rose own goal and an Ilias Chair finish put the game out of sight.

Before that, the Hoops picked up another impressive result, drawing 1-1 away at sixth-placed Reading as Lyndon Dykes put them ahead before Yakou Meite equalised for the Royals.

The Rs have picked up an impressive tally of 13 points from a possible 18 in their last six matches, seeing them rise to 12th spot where they now sit comfortably.

Warburton's side will look to make it five wins from seven with what would be another impressive victory against a resilient side on Monday.

Nottingham Forest Championship form:

L

L

D

L

D

W

Queens Park Rangers Championship form:

W

W

L

W

D

W

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Team News

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Nottingham Forest will remain without Joe Lolley, who is expected to miss the remainder of the season with a hamstring injury.

Meanwhile, centre-midfielder Harry Arter will also miss out with a calf issue.

Forest boast one of the Championship's better defensive records this season, and that is largely due to the strong centre-back pairing of Joe Worrall and Scott McKenna.

Queens Park Rangers will be without centre-back Jordy de Wijs, who is out of contention with a calf injury picked up in the draw with Reading.

He is joined on the sidelines by centre-midfielders Tom Carroll and Luke Amos, with Amos having been absent since October with a ligament rupture.

After an intense international break with Scotland, Lyndon Dykes was dropped to the bench in the recent victory over Coventry, with Warburton instead deciding to deploy Charlie Austin as a lone striker.

Ilias Chair has caught plenty of eyes with some impressive performances this campaign, with the Moroccan netting eight league goals from midfield.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Samba; Christie, McKenna, Worrall, Blackett; Garner, Yates; Ameobi, Cafu, Mighten; Grabban

Queens Park Rangers possible starting lineup:

Lumley; Dickie, Cameron, Barbet; Kakay, Johansen, Chair, Willock, Wallace; Austin, Dykes

We say: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Queens Park Rangers

While the hosts did secure a win last time out to boost their confidence, we see the momentum of QPR carrying them to another victory to extend their strong run of form.

The Reds are a strong defensive outfit, but the attacking threat posed by Dykes, Austin and Chair should be enough to break through.

Top tip

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