Brighton had a very poor start to the season under new manager Sami Hyypia. During Hyypia's time in charge he achieved three wins, ten draws and nine defeats. This left Brighton sitting 22nd in the table and led to Hyypia's resignation from his role as manager. This was to the delight of majority of the fans at Brighton who weren't happy with how results and performances were going. It probably didn't help Hyypia, in the fact that Brighton had finished in the top six in the previous two seasons as this has risen the level of expectation at the AMEX. Chris Hughton has since taken over the reigns and seems to be gradually improving results. He has so far recorded three wins, no draws and two defeats in the Championship. This means he has already matched the amount of wins which Hyypia managed to achieve during his time in charge. However, Brighton suffered a set back last time out as they fell to a 1-0 defeat away to relegation rivals Blackpool. In comparison, Forest have now ended their relationship with Stuart Pearce as the manager was sacked on Sunday evening by chairman Fawaz Al-Hasawi. During his time in charge he achieved eight wins, ten draws and ten defeats. This was not good enough in Al-Hasawi's opinion for a Forest team which had a lot of investment in the summer with the likes of Britt Assombalonga signing for £5.5 million. Pearce did achieve some memorable wins in charge including his first match against Blackpool at home and the famous 2-1 win at local rivals Derby County. However, this wasn't good enough for him to keep his job and he leaves Forest thirteen points off the play-offs. Dougie Freedman now comes in with a relatively good managerial record for a young manager and will be looking to get off to a flying start on Saturday.
Forest manager Stuart Pearce was relieved of his duties by chairman Fawaz Al-Hasawi on Sunday night.
His replacement, Dougie Freedman, was appointed just hours after Stuart Pearce's sacking was confirmed.
New Forest manager Dougie Freedman has a fully fit squad to choose from apart from Michael Mancienne who is still recovering from injury and long-term absentees Chris Cohen and Andy Reid. Apart from that, Dougie Freedman has the whole squad at his disposal. It will be interesting to see what changes he makes to the team in his first game in charge. Dexter Blackstock has now recovered from a recent injury and Matty Fryatt is now fully fit after his run out against Millwall last weekend.
My prediction for this game is Brighton & Hove Albion 1-1 Nottingham Forest. I think it will be a tight game between the two teams, with little to separate them. I think the introduction of Dougie Freedman will inspire a spirited performance from Forest and make them come home with at least a point from the AMEX. However, I think the home side will also gain something from the match due to the fact Chris Hughton is doing a very good job so far.
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