Basement club Nottingham Forest will be looking to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone for the first time since early September when they welcome Crystal Palace to the City Ground on Saturday.

The Eagles, meanwhile, will be aiming to consolidate their place in the top half of the table with a second successive away victory.

Match preview

After netting a 96th-minute equaliser to draw 2-2 at home against Brentford in the Premier League last weekend, Nottingham Forest pulled off an impressive EFL Cup upset with a 2-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the third round on Wednesday night.

Two goals within the space of seven second-half minutes from Renan Lodi and Jesse Lingard put the Tricky Trees in control, and although Orel Mangala was sent off with 15 minutes left to play, Steve Cooper's side held on to progress into the fourth round.

Forest have now extended their unbeaten run at the City Ground to four matches across all competitions and they have one final fixture in front of their supporters this weekend before the six-week World Cup break, with Cooper hoping that his side can climb off the foot of the table with a positive result against Palace.

The Tricky Trees, who are three points behind Bournemouth in 17th place, have suffered defeat in only one of their last nine meetings with Palace and have not lost any of their four previous Premier League encounters against them.

Forest have conceded a total of 30 goals in 14 league games this term, with only Bournemouth (32) having let in more at this stage, but clean sheets on home soil against Liverpool and Spurs in recent weeks will give Cooper's side confidence heading into Saturday's contest.

Unlike Forest, Crystal Palace were unable to progress from the third round of the EFL Cup as they were beaten 3-2 on penalties by Newcastle United on Wednesday night.

The two teams were forced to decide the tie on penalties at St James' Park after a goalless draw was played out in 90 minutes, but Luka Milivojevic, Jean-Phillipe Mateta and Malcolm Ebiowei all missed from 12 yards, with the Eagles eliminated before reaching the fourth round for the fourth successive season.

Patrick Vieira's side had put together a decent run of form before their defeat to Newcastle, winning four and drawing one of their previous six games in the Premier League.

Palace's 2-1 victory away at West Ham United last weekend, which saw Michael Olise net a dramatic 94th-minute winner, helped them to climb up to 10th in the table, level on points with Liverpool in eighth and five points above the bottom three.

Indeed, the three points secured at the London Stadium ended an eight-game winless away run in the top flight, and victory on Saturday against Forest could see the Eagles rise to as high as sixth place if other results were to go their way.

Team News

Nottingham Forest will be without Mangala due to suspension, while Omar Richards (calf), Harry Toffolo, Moussa Niakhate (both thigh) and Giulian Biancone (knee) are all ruled out with injuries.

Scott McKenna and Cheikhou Kouyate missed the midweek win over Spurs with minor knocks and both players will be assessed ahead of kickoff on Saturday.

Cooper is set to make a number of changes to his starting lineup, but Lingard – who scored and provided an assist against Spurs – will be hoping to keep his place in attack, which could see the Englishman joined by Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson.

As for Crystal Palace, James McArthur and Chris Richards are both ruled out with respective groin and thigh injuries, while Odsonne Edouard – who has missed the last two games with a thigh problem – is doubtful and will be assessed in training before Saturday's game.

Vieira is set to revert to a similar starting lineup that beat West Ham last weekend, with a back four of Nathaniel Clyne, Joachim Andersen, Marc Guehi and Tyrick Mitchell protecting goalkeeper Vicente Guaita.

Wilfried Zaha, who scored in last weekend's win over West Ham, could continue as the central striker if Edouard is not deemed fit to feature, with support provided in attack by Olise and Jordan Ayew.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Henderson; Aurier, Worrall, Cook, Lodi; Freuler, O'Brien, Yates; Gibbs-White, Lingard; Johnson

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:
Guaita; Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell; Schlupp, Doucoure, Eze; Ayew, Zaha, Olise

We say: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Crystal Palace

A closely-fought contest is set to be played out on Saturday between two teams who will both fancy their chances of claiming maximum points.

Forest seem to have turned a corner at the City Ground, but we can envisage Crystal Palace heading into the World Cup break on a high with a slender victory.

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