West Bromwich Albion vs Nottingham Forest. Sky Bet Championship.
The HawthornsAttendance25,117.
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from midday on Saturday; kick-off is at 12.30pm
Friday 14 February 2020 22:39, UK
West Brom face Nottingham Forest in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football.
Sky Bet Championship leaders West Brom have no fresh injury concerns ahead of the visit of promotion-chasing Nottingham Forest. Veteran midfielder Gareth Barry (calf) has been stepping up his recovery, along with Chris Brunt and full-back Kieran Gibbs (hamstring) as they all close in on a first-team return.
On-loan West Ham midfielder Grady Diangana continues rehabilitation on his own hamstring problem but is expected to be back by the end of February.
Teenage defender Nathan Ferguson, who had been set to join Crystal Palace ahead of the transfer deadline, is sidelined following exploratory knee surgery. Nottingham Forest will hand Lewis Grabban a fitness test ahead of the trip to The Hawthorns, having missed the midweek home defeat by Charlton because of a knee problem.
Midfielders Samba Sow and Sammy Ameobi also did not feature against the Addicks because of unspecified issues, but are expected to be available if needed. Manager Sabri Lamouchi reported no fresh injury concerns as Forest look to keep up the pace in the battle for automatic promotion.
Yuri Ribeiro and Matty Cash are set to be recalled to the starting 11.
West Brom have emerged from their winter slump with three wins in succession to move them six points clear of second-placed Leeds and put into the driving seat at the top of the Sky Bet Championship.
Meanwhile, Forest have lost two of their last three league games this month. They lost 2-1 to Birmingham on February 1, before a significant 2-0 win over Leeds at the City Ground a week later. However, they couldn't follow that up with a victory over Charlton on Tuesday, when they lost 1-0 at The Valley.
West Brom are winless in three home league games against Nottingham Forest (D1 L2) since a 1-0 win in November 2001.
Nottingham Forest have won none of their last three league games against West Brom (D2 L1), losing 2-1 on the opening day of this season.
West Brom recorded their first home league clean sheet in their 2-0 win against Luton - the Baggies last kept consecutive home league clean sheets back in February 2017 under Tony Pulis in the Premier League.
Only Matt Phillips (5) has more Championship goals at the Hawthorns for West Brom this season than defender Semi Ajayi (4), who netted a brace in the 2-0 win over Luton.
Nottingham Forest winger Joe Lolley has been directly involved in seven goals in last 10 away starts in the Championship (3 goals, 4 assists).
West Brom are right back on it. Three wins on the spin, including in tough trips to Millwall and Reading, have sent them clear at the top. Sabri Lamouchi essentially sacrificed the game against Charlton to prepare for this, which means the pressure is on to get a win here.
David Prutton predicts: 2-1 (15/2 with Sky Bet)
