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

Wycombe Wanderers would move out of the Championship relegation zone for the first time since the opening day with victory against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Sitting 22nd in the table, the Chairboys are only two points below their 20th place opponents after turning their form around in recent weeks.

Match preview

© Reuters

Wycombe came from behind to obtain their first away points of the season on Wednesday as they beat Birmingham City 2-1.

It was secured in dramatic circumstances as Kristian Pedersen scored an own goal in the 92nd-minute of a lively clash at St Andrew's.

After a 1-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday last weekend, Gareth Ainsworth 's side are showing that relegation is not the certainty it seemed a few games ago.

The Chairboys lost their first seven games of the campaign and the pre-season fears that the step up from League One would be too big were bearing out.

Yet anyone who has followed their journey in recent years will know never to write them off and a win at Forest would be another huge statement of intent.

The Reds were competing in the inaugural season of the Premier League in the same year that Wycombe won promotion to the Football League for the first time.

© Reuters

They are now struggling at the wrong end of the Championship but got a crucial 2-1 victory at home against Coventry City on Wednesday.

They left it even later than Wycombe, with Lyle Taylor 's penalty in the 97th-minute the match-winning moment.

It was only a second win for Chris Hughton in six games, and the former Brighton & Hove Albion boss will know that there is plenty of work still to be done to get Forest to where they need to be.

Building on a first home win of the season will be a start, while this month's international break will be key for Hughton to get his ideas and style across after such a busy period of games recently.

Saturday will be the first ever league meeting between these two sides, with their three previous encounters all coming in the League Cup - most recently a 4-1 win for Forest in 2011.

Nottingham Forest Championship form: WDDDLW

Wycombe Wanderers Championship form: LLLDWW

Team News

© Reuters

Lewis Grabban remains sidelined with a hip injury so Lyle Taylor is set to keep his place upfront.

Nicholas Ioannou will serve the final match of his three-game ban, leaving Hughton with a decision to make at left-back again between Gaetan Bong and Yuri Ribeiro.

It would be a surprise to see 38-year-old Adebayo Akinfenwa start a fourth game in under two weeks, but his place in the team has coincided with Wycombe's turnaround in form so he could keep his spot.

Fred Onyedinma made a great impact off the bench against Birmingham, so could feature from the start at the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

Samba; Christie, McKenna, Figueiredo, Ribeiro; Sow, Colback; Knockaert, Ameobi, Lolley; Taylor

Wycombe Wanderers possible starting lineup:

Allsopp; Grimmer, Stewart, Knight, Jacobson; Adeniran, Wheeler, Thompson; Onyedinma, Horgan; Kashket

We say: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Wycombe Wanderers

Both teams will be feeling confident after their midweek wins and it could be a tight contest despite the seeming gap in quality. We are going with a narrow Forest win, but Wycombe have surprised everyone lately so do not write them off completely.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.