West Brom v Nottingham Forest: Entertaining top of the table encounter expected

Mark O'Haire
14 February 2020

West Brom have attempted 54 shots in their last two games

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Table-topping West Brom will look to consolidate their position at the Championship summit when automatic promotion challengers Nottingham Forest arrive on Saturday. Mark O'Haire previews The Hawthorns encounter.,,

"It’s a selection that’s provided profit in 12 (80%) of Albion’s 15 fixtures at their Black Country base under Slaven Bilic"

West Brom v Nottingham Forest
Saturday February 15, 12:30
Sky Sports

West Brom go six points clear

West Brom extended their lead at the top of the Championship to six points on Wednesday as the Baggies came from behind to beat Reading 2-1 in Berkshire. The table-toppers conceded from the penalty spot inside the opening 10 minutes but centre-back Kyle Bartley went from zero to hero in the comeback victory, Albion's third straight league success.

Bartley clumsily gave away an early penalty for handball when he appeared under little pressure to head a corner away. However, Matheus Pereira drew the visitors 15 minutes later and Bartley atoned for his earlier mistake when he headed WBA in front early in the second half. That proved to be the decisive strike in a dominant Albion display.

West Brom should have made victory more comfortable on the night. The Baggies twice struck the crossbar in either half through Filip Krovinovic and Callum Robinson, while Reading's goalkeeper Rafael was regularly called upon to make a series of smart saves as Albion fired in 26 efforts at goal in a performance that pleased head coach Slaven Bilic.

Forest suffer surprise setback

Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi accepted his share of the blame for the Reds' shock 1-0 midweek defeat at home to struggling Charlton. With the Tricky Trees fresh from a deserved 2-0 victory over promotion favourites Leeds at the City Ground, the Frenchman opted to shuffle his pack for the midweek match, making five changes to his starting XI.

Top scorer Lewis Grabban, midfielder Samba Sow and winger Sammy Ameobi all missed out through injury with Matty Cash and fellow full-back Yuri Ribeiro rested from the matchday squad. Forest were unable to find their attacking fluency despite the best efforts of Tiago Silva and the ever-busy Joe Lolley and managed to land just two attempts on-target.

Post-match, Lamouchi admitted the Reds were second best, saying, "The best team won. They had just one chance in the first half - we gave them the chance to score and they scored. After that, they controlled the game. We could play for two or three hours and not create a lot. We made a lot of mistakes - probably me first with some changes."

Baggies odds-on favourites

Despite the duos rich tradition, West Brom and Nottingham Forest have rarely been regular competitors over the past few decades. Nevertheless, Albion haven't always enjoyed their encounters with the Reds on home soil with the Tricky Trees collecting a reasonable W4-D3-L2 from nine trips to The Hawthorns dating back to 1985, including W2-D1-L0 since 2001.

West Brom's 1.794/5 new shoot on sight policy appears to have played a prominent role in Albion getting their promotion campaign back on track. The Baggies have taken 54 attempts at goal spanning their victories at Millwall and the Madejski Stadium with head coach Slaven Bilic encouraging his high-class individual talents in attacking areas to express themselves.

Nottingham Forest's 5.004/1 inconsistent nature when taking on the Championship's lesser lights could prove costly come May. However, the Reds have impressed when going toe-to-toe with the division's elite, returning W4-D1-L1 against the top-three (WBA, Leeds and Brentford). The guests are also unbeaten at top-half under Sabri Lamouchi (W3-D4-L0).

Both sides can oblige

The past four meetings between West Brom and Nottingham Forest have paid out for Both Teams To Score 1.845/6 backers and a repeat looks entirely possible when the pair lock horns at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon. It's a selection that's provided profit in 12 (80%) of Albion's 15 fixtures at their Black Country base under Slaven Bilic.

Forest haven't proven quite so fruitful in the BTTS market, although the Tricky Trees have scored in all bar two of their 16 away days with a healthy 10 (62%) delivering for Both Teams To Score hunters. With Lewis Grabban restored to the starting XI, the Reds possess enough quality to hurt the home defence here and play their part in an enjoyable contest.