Nottingham Forest look like they may have finally learnt how to play together after numerous signings in the summer that took a while to settle. In all competitions, the 3-0 loss to Manchester United was their first loss here in nine. In the league they are unbeaten in four, and in six at the City Ground, winning three of their matches and they look much more comfortable here than on the road. Of their 21 points so far, 15 have come here and they find the back of the net with much more regularity. In their ten home matches, they have scored first in eight of them and hit the back of the net in all but one of them – a 2-0 defeat to Spurs. Leeds also have a poor record here; Forest have lost just one of the last eight head to head matches between the two going back to 2012.

Leeds however look to be struggling and are moving closer and closer to the relegation zone. They have not won in the league in six – a run that stretches back to the 5th of November and will be without Rodrigo, who has been a massive help to them this season – scoring 10 goals already. Away from Elland Road, their record is abysmal – picking up just one win (at Anfield) and just five points – a record only worsened by Bournemouth. Against Forest, they have no wins in their last five and just two in their last 15.

Brennan Johnson has been very effective recently in this Forest side, most notably scoring both goals against Leicester in a 2-0 win. He has started 22 matches for his club so far this season, having at least one shot in 19 of them and one shot on target in 12 of those. However, recently he has been more effective at hitting the target, having one shot on target in nine of his last 11 matches and with six in his last four – including one in each of the legs against Manchester United. At the City Ground, he has had at least one shot on target in five of his last six, having nine in total in that time. He was taken off after 63 minutes in midweek to protect himself with the tie effectively being over.

Brennan Johnson has started 18 Premier League matches this season, committing 22 fouls in that time. He has had at least one in 15 of the 18 matches and in each of his last eight starts in the league. 13 of his 22 fouls have come at the City Ground in 11 matches. In nine of those starts here, he has had at least one foul, including in five of his last six.

This is a massive game at the bottom of the league and therefore we can expect to see some cards. Forest average 4.60 cards per game at home – 2.50 for and 2.10 against. They have seen at least four in seven of their ten matches. Leeds average 4.33 cards per game away from Elland Road – 2.56 for and 1.78 against. At least four cards have been shown in seven of their nine games on the road.

The referee for this one is Robert Jones. He averages 3.69 cards per game in the Premier League this season, showing at least four in 54% of his matches. He has officiated two Forest games – West Ham home and Leicester away – showing the Reds four cards on both occasions and 11 across the two. He has also taken charge of two Leeds games – Wolves at home and Brentford away. He showed Leeds two cards on both occasions and there were four or more cards at Brentford. In the context of this match, both sides will be desperate to win, and we should see bookings shown.