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Nottingham Forest and Preston North End will battle for three points on matchday 17 of the EFL Championship on Saturday.
The home side come into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw with Sheffield United on home turf. Lewis Grabban and Morgan Gibbs-White scored late goals in the second half to share the spoils.
Preston North End secured a 2-1 victory away to table-toppers Bournemouth on Wednesday. Ben Whiteman and Alistar McCann scored second-half goals either side of Phil Billing's strike to give the Lilywhites all three points.
Only two points separate both sides in the table. Preston are the better-placed side in 15th position on 21 points. Forest are two points and two places below them.
Nottingham Forest vs Preston North End Head-to-Head
The two sides have clashed on 107 occasions in the past and Preston North End have a superior record with 43 wins to their name.
Nottingham Forest were victorious in 33 previous matches while the two sides shared the spoils on 31 occasions.
Their most recent meeting came in May. Second-half goals from Thomas Bayliss and Liam Lindsay saw Preston North End secure a 2-1 comeback victory away from home on the final day of last season.
Nottingham Forest form guide: D-D-L-W-W
Preston North End form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-L-W
Nottingham Forest vs Preston North End Team News
Nottingham Forest
Loic Mbe Soh (thigh) and Jordi Osei-Tutu (hamstring) are both unavailable for selection due to injuries.
Injuries: Loic Mbe Soh, Jordi Osei-Tutu
Suspension: None
Preston North End
Joshua Murphy (ankle), Ched Evans (foot), Connor Wickham (hamstring), Isaiah Brown (achiles tendon) and Matthew Olosunde (heel) are all unavailable due to fitness issues.
Injuries: Joshua Murphy, Ched Evans, Connor Wickham, Isaiah Brown, Matthew Olosunde
Suspension: None
Nottingham Forest vs Preston North End Predicted XI
Nottingham Forest Predicted XI (3-4-1-2): Brice Samba; Joe Worrall, Tobias Figueiredo, Scott McKenna; Djed Spence, Ryan Yates, Jack Colback, Max Lowe; Philip Zinckernagel; Lewis Grabban, Brennan Johnson
Preston North End (3-4-1-2): Daniel Iversen; Jordan Storey, Patrick Bauer, Greg Cunningham; Josh Earl, Alan Browne, Ryan Ledson, Sepp van den Berg; Daniel Johnson; Emil Riis Jakobsen, Scott Sinclair
Nottingham Forest vs Preston North End Prediction
There is little to choose between the two sides and their close standing in the table is indicative of how evenly matched they are.
Neither side is in immediate danger of being dragged into the dropzone and we are predicting they will cancel themselves out in a low-scoring draw.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-1 Preston North End
