English Football League / Hannah Duncan / 18 January 2012 /

Nottingham Forest and Leicester need to buck their ideas up soon if they don't want to suffer the same fate as the Sheffield clubs, says Hannah Duncan as she discusses Championship and League One markets.

League One has welcomed several former top-flights clubs into its ranks over the past few years, from the likes of Southampton and Charlton, to one-time UEFA Champions League semi-finalists Leeds United. Sheffield(s) United and Wednesday are also knocking about in English football's third tier among sides such as Stevenage, Exeter City and Yeovil Town, who were plying their trade in the non-league not so long ago.

And while former Premier League sides Charlton [1.36], United [2.02] and Wednesday [2.58] are all vying for promotion next year could see a new batch of ex-top flight clubs dropping to the murky depths of League One.

Both Coventry City and Ipswich Town are likely to spend the next few months glancing nervously over their shoulders (although Coventry won't see much behind them at present as they prop up the rest of the Championship), while even former European champions aren't exempt from the drop, with Nottingham Forest hovering precariously below the relegation cut-off line.

If Forest do fall through the Championship's trap-door come May, they are likely to hold their home form accountable. Steve Cotterill's side, who are [2.62] to fall to League One, have lost nine of their 14 games at the City Ground this season - not quite what you'd call a fortress - and scoring just 11 goals in the process.

Coventry are currently favourites on Betfair to be playing League One football next season at [1.27]. The Sky Blues are four points adrift of Doncaster at the foot of the Championship and are yet to win on the road this campaign, having scored just six goals away from the Ricoh Arena. While their home form accounts for 16 of the 19 points they have accumulated so far, drastic improvements away from home are required before the end of the season if they want to remain in the Championship.

Another former Premier League side drifting hazardously close to the relegation zone are Ipswich Town. Having settled for mid-table mediocrity for the past few seasons, the Tractor Boys are starting to suffer from a lack of serious investment in the playing staff, despite accruing a sizeable sum for exciting prospect Connor Wickham in the summer. Ipswich are at [5.3] for relegation and sit in 19th place, just four points ahead of the bottom three.

Glancing slightly further up the Championship table, an outside bet for relegation at [30.0] are Nigel Pearson's Leicester City who, despite being the league's big-spenders in the summer under Sven Goran-Eriksson, currently find themselves 11 points clear of relegation but struggling to find consistent form.

Their 4-0 FA Cup replay win over local rivals Forest may well prove to be the confidence boost needed at the King Power stadium, but with a run of tough games coming up against the likes of Southampton, Middlesbrough and Brighton, and with just one win in their last seven league fixtures, they need to turn confidence in to results.

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