Preview: Nottingham Forest vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

Watford will be targeting top spot in the Championship when they travel to Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

The Hornets are just two points behind league leaders Norwich City, while Forest are only two points clear of the bottom three.

Match preview

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Watford beat Preston North End 4-1 on Saturday - their biggest victory of the season so far and first win by three goals since their 3-0 triumph over Liverpool nine months ago.

Domingos Quina, Troy Deeney, Nathaniel Chalobah and Joao Pedro were all on the scoresheet as the Hornets made it five games unbeaten and rose to third in the table.

After successive draws on the road at Queens Park Rangers and Bristol City, the result and performance at Vicarage Road served as a reminder of the supreme quality in Watford's side.

It is now their poor away record that they must improve upon if they are to be serious contenders for an automatic promotion spot.

Vladimir Ivic 's team have won only one of their seven away league games this season, and that came at bottom of the table Derby County.

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They will be hoping for more joy in the East Midlands on Wednesday against a Forest side who were beaten 1-0 at home by Swansea City on Sunday.

There were signs of promise against the Welsh outfit, but ultimately it was a third consecutive defeat with no goals scored for the Reds.

There has not quite been the turnaround in form at the City Ground that was expected when Chris Hughton was appointed manager at the start of October.

While the former Brighton and Hove Albion boss has lifted them out of the bottom three, he has won just three of his 10 games in charge and relegation remains a real danger.

Putting the ball in the back of the net seems to be a particular issue, with Lyle Taylor the only player at the club to have scored more than once this season.

Nottingham Forest Championship form: LWWLLL

Watford Championship form: LWWDDW

Team News

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Jack Colback was forced off through injury in the first half against Swansea City, so is unlikely to be involved on Wednesday night.

Chris Hughton admitted that losing Colback was the "last thing we probably wanted", but said that Samba Sow could be fit again to slot into the holding midfield position after being absent for the last three games.

Andre Gray limped off with a hamstring problem against Preston and should be replaced in the starting lineup by Joao Pedro.

That may be the only change that Vladimir Ivic makes after such a convincing win at the weekend, meaning Troy Deeney is in line for his second consecutive start.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Samba; Christie, McKenna, Figueiredo, Ribeiro; Yates, Arter; Knockaert, Lolley, Ameobi; Taylor

Watford possible starting lineup:

Foster; Ngakia, Kabasele, Cathcart, Femenia; Sarr, Garner, Chalobah, Quina; Deeney, Pedro

We say: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Watford

Given the two teams' respective league positions, Watford would ordinarily be heavy favourites for this one, but their patchy away record does raise questions over whether they can come away with victory. We think the Hornets will sneak a win, but do not be surprised if Forest manage to get something from the game.

Top betting tip

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