Sky Bet Championship: Nottingham Forest v Middlesbrough preview

Nottingham Forest boss Dougie Freedman may freshen up his starting line-up for the visit of Middlesbrough on Saturday.

Freedman has no new problems following the midweek win at Birmingham, where Jamie Ward's substitution after an hour was for fatigue rather than injury.

Energy levels are likely to be key in Freedman's selection ahead of a third game in the space of a week and Chris O'Grady, Ryan Mendes and David Vaughan are all likely to be pushing for a return to the team.

Jonny Williams, on loan from Crystal Palace, could be included in the Reds squad for the first time after featuring for the Under-21 side this week. The midfielder is rediscovering his match fitness following a groin problem that hampered him for much of last season.

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Boro head coach Aitor Karanka will have a near-enough full complement from which to choose with central defender Ben Gibson close to a return after shaking off the hamstring problem which forced him to miss the 3-1 home win over Brentford in midweek.

Fernando Amorebieta deputised for the England Under-21 international against the Bees, while striker Cristhian Stuani made the most of his selection ahead of Adam Reach by taking his goal tally for the season to seven with a double.

Midfielder Albert Adomah returned to the fold in that game having resolved his differences with Karanka, scoring one goal and making another after being introduced as a substitute, and he will hope for further involvement at the weekend.

The Spaniard otherwise has only Rhys Williams, Damia Abella and Alex Baptiste on the long-term casualty list with all three working their way back towards full fitness.

Sky Bet Preview:

Nottingham Forest are the outsiders at 14/5 with Sky Bet for victory at home to Middlesbrough in front of the Sky Sports cameras on Saturday. Boro are the even-money favourites for the win and the draw is on offer at 12/5. Forest are looking for a third win in a row in the Sky Bet Championship and both of those victories have come by a one-goal margin. Dougie Freedman's men can be backed at 4/1 for another victory by one goal. Dexter Blackstock scored the only goal of the game in the 1-0 win at Birmingham in midweek and the striker is an 8/1 chance in the first goalscorer market. Boro, 7/4 favourites to go up as champions, have lost only one of their last seven meetings with Forest  and are available at 13/2 to win with both teams scoring. Sky Sports Football League pundit Ian Holloway is tipping a 1-1 draw at odds of 5/1.