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Preview: Wolverhampton Wanderers vs. Nottingham Forest

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between playoff rivals Wolves and Nottingham Forest at Molineux.

Wolverhampton Wanderers will be looking to get back to winning ways when they host fellow playoff hopefuls Nottingham Forest at Molineux on Saturday.

The reigning League One champions made a fine start to life back in the Championship, establishing themselves as early top-six contenders, but they have gone off the boil in recent weeks.

They have now gone three games without a victory, culminating in an embarrassing 5-0 defeat at the hands of Derby County last time out.

The international break may have come at the perfect time for Kenny Jackett to deal with his players following that drubbing, and with in-form Brentford and Bournemouth coming up in their next two games after this one, Wolves could do with a return to form soon.

They won't be at panic stations just yet, however, with just one point separating them from the final playoff place despite the recent dip in form.

It has been a fairly busy break for Jackett, with loanee Yannick Sagbo being recalled by Hull City and striker Danny Graham arriving at the club on a temporary basis.

The goals have dried up for Wolves recently, so Graham could be put straight into the starting lineup in an attempt to get the Midlands outfit back on the scoring trail.

The hosts have only been beaten once at Molineux in the league this season, and will be glad to return home having not played in front of their own fans since the start of November.

While Wolves have suffered a slump recently, Nottingham Forest will be hoping that they have finally got out of their own with a first victory in 11 games before the international break.

Late goals from Britt Assombalonga and Michail Antonio helped Stuart Pearce's side to a comeback win over Norwich City to end a run that had seen them slip from top of the table down to 11th.

They may have stopped the rot just in time to avoid permanent damage to their season too, as just three points separate them from the top six despite such a poor run of form.

It remains to be seen whether they can rediscover the sort of performances that had many tipping them as champions during the early stages of the campaign, but with a series of winnable fixtures on the horizon they will be hoping that they have now turned a corner in their season.

There was good news on the injury front too, with Kelvin Wilson and Danny Fox back in contention this week. Jack Hobbs and Andy Reid remain sidelined for another month or so, but there were no setbacks during the international break for Pearce's side.

Wolves:

Recent form: DWWDLL

Possible starting lineup: Ikeme; Doherty, Batth, Stearman, Ricketts; McDonald, Saville, Henry, Evans, Sako; Graham

Nottm Forest:

Recent form: LDLLLW

Possible starting lineup: Darlow; Hunt, Mancienne, Lascelles, Harding; Antonio, Tesche, Osborn, Ince; Fryatt, Assombalonga

Sports Mole says: 3-2


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Andre Gray of Brentford celebrates scoring their second goal during the Sky Bet Championship match between Nottingham Forest and Brentford at the City Ground on November 5, 2014
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Liverpool1210112481631
2Manchester CityMan City127232217523
3Chelsea126422314922
4Arsenal126422112922
5Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton126422116522
6Tottenham HotspurSpurs1261527131419
7Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest125431513219
8Aston Villa125431919019
9Newcastle UnitedNewcastle115331311218
10Fulham125341717018
11Brentford125252222017
12Manchester UnitedMan Utd124441313016
13Bournemouth124351617-115
14West Ham UnitedWest Ham113351319-612
15Everton122551017-711
16Leicester CityLeicester122461523-810
17Wolverhampton WanderersWolves122372028-89
18Ipswich TownIpswich121651323-109
19Crystal Palace121561017-78
20Southampton121110924-154


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