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Championship: Peter Beagrie previews Blackpool-Leeds and Forest-QPR

Image: McCormack: the Leeds hotshot will be in action against Blackpool

The four Championship teams we will see in action on Boxing Day have plenty of reasons to be cheerful.

Nottingham Forest v QPR

Forest have a tremendous midfield - Andy Reid, Henri Lansbury and Radoslaw Majewski are top drawer and they have added to that with Nathaniel Chalobah - while they have recorded three consecutive clean sheets, too, earning two draws and a win. Young Jamaal Lascelles has come in and down remarkably well at the back - he is big, strong, athletic, aggressive, and loves to head the ball - but they are missing Mr Consistent, Chris Cohen, who would be in any Forest starting XI. Forest, Derby and Leicester have the extra pressure in the promotion race as they fighting it out with East Midlands rivals, but I think Davies' men - and Leicester for that matter - will improve, and so will Jamie Paterson, who has flourished since joining Forest from Walsall. The Reds are better away from home - as they were last term - and that may be a slight worry for Billy, with his side perhaps not handling playing in front of the numerous and vociferous Forest fans as well as they might. A real goal scorer would certainly help them. QPR could take advantage of Forest on Boxing Day as they are very tight and very organised - but they have problems themselves with strikers out and their form not as sensational as it was at the start of the season. I think Harry Redknapp may go for it at The City Ground and play Junior Hoilett and Matt Phillips on the wing with Niko Kranjcar in the hole behind Charlie Austin, but Alejandro Faurlin, who makes everything tick in midfield but is out long term with a cruciate injury, could be a massive miss. Some people have also said to me that Harry seems underwhelmed by the Championship but I just think that he understands the competitive nature of the division and knows that even though QPR have a stellar squad, things won't be easy. In the first 10 games, the Hoops won eight and drew two, while in the last 11 they have won four, drawn four, lost three, and when you are playing Saturday-Tuesday-Saturday - and not used to it - it can affect you. So this is a vital game for both teams and, therefore, a fascinating fixture.

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