Five Reasons to be Cheerful this Christmas!

1. Recent Form

Forest have massively turned their form around recently especially on home turf. They have won their last four matches at the City Ground including a 1-0 win over local rivals Derby County back at the beginning of November. In addition to this, Forest ended their losing streak away from home and managed to secure two credible points away to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers. The recent upturn in form even has some fans dreaming of a play-off place which still seems a tough ask. However, if Forest can maintain their good form over this festive period, who knows?

2. Stability

Stability is a word not often used to describe Nottingham Forest in recent years, but the club seems to be improving in this regard. Fawaz could easily have pulled the trigger on Forest manager Dougie Freedman as many called for his head after a poor run of form. Despite this, he has stood by him and Dougie has now almost been at the club for a YEAR. In modern day football and especially at Forest this is a considerable achievement. If Dougie can last till the end of the season, he will be the first manager to last a whole season under Fawaz Al-Hasawi's ownership. 

3. Fawaz

Fawaz seems to have finally learnt his lesson and is now appearing far less on social media. The summer brought huge confusion again with Fawaz tweets contradicting what was actually happening in regards to the Henri Lansbury and Michail Antonio situations. This caused many fans to lose their patience with the owner and react on social media. Fawaz now seems to have taken more of a back seat and allowed Dougie and his team to get on with their job which can only be a good thing. 

4. Injured Players Returning

Despite the devastating injury to Dani Pinillos, there is positive injury news. Chris Cohen is nearing his return and is likely to play in the FA Cup match against QPR on the 9th January. In addition to this, Britt Assombalonga and Matty Fryatt are also close to making a return and hope to be back around February. With these three players back in the squad, it could allow Forest to push on up the table if they are within striking distance of the play-offs. Assombalonga and Fryatt will add vital firepower to the team which it has been lacking so far this season. 

Britt Assombalonga celebrates scoring the opening goal of the 1-1 draw with rivals Derby County last September. 

Credit: The Guardian Newspaper 

5. Third Kit

Forest recently released their Third Kit and its fair to say its a beauty!

Britt Assombalonga presents the new Forest Third Kit which is already proving to be a hit with supporters. 

Merry Christmas!

MK Dons Home Pre-Match Preview

On Saturday (19th December 2015), Forest return to the City Ground to face Karl Robinson's MK Dons. Last time out, Forest secured a credible point in a turgid 0-0 draw away to Blackburn Rovers on Monday evening. Forest will be looking to increase the significance of two hard fought away points with a win on Saturday afternoon.

MK Dons ended a horrid start to the season on Tuesday evening by beating Sheffield Wednesday 2-1 on home turf. This win ended a winless run of five games which included three defeats to the likes of Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford and Ipswich Town. MK Dons currently find themselves in the lowly position of 20th in the Championship table. However, they will now be looking to build on Tuesday's result and pull away from the relegation zone. The one factor which will give Forest great confidence is the dire away form of the Dons. They only have one away win to their name so far this season which came on the opening day as they came out 4-1 winners away to fellow strugglers Rotherham United. One player to look out for is Carl Baker who is currently top scorer for the Dons with three goals. In comparison, Forest are starting to build some momentum themselves. The point gained away at Blackburn on Monday evening, extended Forest's unbeaten run to four games. During recent times, Forest's home form has been particularly impressive. They have won their last three games at home and are unbeaten in the last five. The last two games included comfortable victories against Reading and Fulham both of whom are above MK Dons in the league table. However, there is no easy game in the Championship and Forest will know they will have to be at their best to secure the three points.

Chris Cohen is nearing a return to first-team action as he played 45 minutes of football for the reserves at Barnsley on Monday. Ryan Mendes should return to the squad after being left out with a slight knock for the trip to Blackburn Rovers. Andy Reid has been confirmed to still be struggling with his groin injury which has kept him out since September last year. Britt Assombalonga and Matty Fryatt are both making good progress and hope to be back in the New Year. Forest sustained no additional injuries on Monday evening.

My score prediction for this match is Nottingham Forest 2-0 MK Dons. I feel the combination of Forest's good recent home form and MK Dons's dire away form will ensure the three points go to Forest. However, I do not feel it will be as comfortable as some people may think due to the fact MK Dons are coming off the back of a very good 2-1 win against Sheffield Wednesday. This may well give them the confidence to come to the City Ground and believe they can grind out some sort of result.