Nottingham Forest’s bruising 5-0 defeat to high-flying Bournemouth last time out ended a run of 9 games unbeaten across all competitions for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, they managed to win 8 of those encounters.

They’ve enjoyed a brilliant season so far which sees them sit 3rd in the Premier League with a 3-point cushion on 4th-placed side Manchester City.

They welcome a Brighton side who had their own 7-game unbeaten run ended by a 1-0 defeat to a rejuvenated Everton side last weekend, Fabian Hurzeler’s team weren’t as convincing in this run with 4 of the games ending in draws.

This is something Brighton have struggled with all season, they’ve drawn 10 games in the Premier League this season – more than any other side. This suggests that Brighton are competitive in the majority of games but can struggle to turn those positive performances into 3 points.

The initial meeting between these sides at the Amex Stadium ended in a 2-2 draw. Forest have only lost 2 of their 11 Premier League games at home this campaign.

The Championship table is as chaotic as you would expect at this time of the season, just 6 points separate Middlesborough in 6th place and QPR in 13th making the race for the play-offs a tight one.

Bristol City are right in this race sitting in 8th place, just 3 points off West Brom and Middlesborough who currently occupy the final 2 play-off positions. Oxford United’s recent upturn in form has taken them away from the relegation battle at the bottom of the table and Gary Rowett’s side will now be setting their sights up the table.

Oxford have seen 42 goals across their 15 home games in the Championship this season (23 scored, 19 conceded – 2.8 per game).

They’ve seen BTTS in 3 of their last 5 games in all competitions and have seen 2.62 goals per game across their 29 games in the Championship this term. Bristol City have seen 39 goals across their 15 games in the second division this campaign (2.6 per game) with BTTS landing in each of their last 2 Championship games.

The initial meeting between these sides ended in a 2-1 win for Bristol City, both sides posted promising xG totals (2.32-1.74) suggesting that there will be chances at both ends in this one, further supported by the fact that there were 8 big chances in the earlier encounter.

Carlos Corberan’s mid-season departure to Valencia has caused some problems for West Brom. The Baggies’ success in recent seasons was largely due to the tactical nous of Corberan who made West Brom very hard to beat.

They’ve gone in a slightly different direction with the appointment of Tony Mowbray who is more flexible in his approach, something which really shone through in West Brom’s 5-1 win over Portsmouth last time out bringing an end to a run of 4 games without a win in all competitions.

They face a Plymouth side who sit bottom of the Championship, 7 points off safety. Their challenge to stay up has been made even more difficult with the departure of star player, Morgan Whittaker, to promotion-chasing Middlesborough. Plymouth are without a win in 15 Championship games with their only win in this run coming against Brentford in the FA Cup.

West Brom ran out 1-0 winners in the meeting between these sides earlier in the season, a modest scoreline when looking at the underlying numbers. West Brom dominated the xG battle (2.64-0.78) and created 4 big chances to Plymouth’s 0. It’s hard to see where the next win comes from for Miron Muslic’s side with the manager already showing frustration with his side in the early stages of his tenure.

Norwich are 1 of the most entertaining sides in the Championship, Johannes Hoff Thorup’s side have seen 90 goals across their 29 league games this season (3.10 per game).

Interestingly, their goalscoring form seems to drop off a cliff when playing away from home with 24 fewer goals scored on their travels compared to at Carrow Road. However, their opponents here in fellow play-off chasers Watford should create an entertaining game.

Watford have seen 81 goals across their 29 games in the second division of English football this campaign (2.79 per game), they’ve seen over 2.5 goals in each of their last 2 Championship games which ended in defeat. Remarkably, this has increased the pressure on head coach Tom Cleverley with a volatile Watford board previously showing they have little patience with their managers, even with the impressive job Cleverley has done this season.

The initial meeting between these sides ended in a 4-1 win for Norwich, it’s unlikely that the result will be this one-sided in this encounter with both sides in touching distance of the play-offs but goals look to be on the cards when looking at the underlying numbers of the previous meeting, with the xG battle at 2.72-1.67 and 6 big chances in the game as well as 11 shots on target between the sides.

Notts County travel to a Gillingham side who are without a win in their last 7 games in League 2. By contrast, Notts County have only lost 1 of their last 8 games in League 2, a record that includes 3 wins in their last 4 games positioning them 2nd in the table, a way behind a dominant Walsall side but definitely still in the conversation for the automatic promotion places.

Notts County have avoided defeat in 11 of their 14 league games on the road this season, the 3 defeats came against Walsall, Crewe and Salford – all sides currently in the top 8 of the table.

Gillingham have lost or drawn 7 of their home games this season, they’re more of a goal threat on home soil with double the goals scored at Priestfield Stadium compared to their away games but that is unlikely to see them collect all 3 points in this game when considering the form and motivation of Notts County – who can get an early jump on their promotion rivals who play later in the day.

Both of these sides have outside chances of making the play-offs but as is so often the case in the lower leagues, things can change quickly. The picture can change very quickly so it is in both sides’ interest to put their best foot forward here, especially Chesterfield who are only 6 points off the play-offs in the current standings.

Cheltenham have seen 40 goals across their 14 home games this season (2.85 per game), a small increase on the 35 in their 13 away fixtures this term. Chesterfield have seen BTTS in 3 of their last 5 games and have seen 39 goals across their 13 away games this season (3.0 per game).

The initial meeting between these sides earlier in the season ended in a 1-1 draw. There were positive signs in the xG (1.83-1.24) which reinforces how evenly matched these sides are. It should be a similar result with both sides having enough firepower to find the back of the net at least once.