The Final Countdown: Squeaky Bum Time Part 2

The visit of the tractor boys from Brizzle to the City Ground on Saturday is the definitive 'must win game' for Billy Davies and his babes. Nothing less than the three points up for grabs will be enough to take the strain off some fragile old tickers in the stands, as that time of year when we stock up on extra pairs of underpants is upon us once again.

With only three home games left, we need to win them all. Easier said than done, considering it's six games since we got a win. Forest fans won't need reminding of the fact that we are currently third from bottom, a point adrift of safety. City though, have worries of their own. Defeat for them on Saturday, will effectively put an end to their slim hopes of making the Playoffs for a second successive year. They themselves have been struggling of late and have only had one win in their last seven games, so they won't be coming into this one with any great confidence.

In what promisses to be a tense affair, we can all but hope that the knuckle draggers that last made the trip to sunny Notts stay away. City brought a large following two years ago, in their push for promotion and a small section of that support saw fit to trash a couple of bars full of women and kids. Hopefully the chavved up loonies will give it a miss this time and let football win the day.

Forest fans may get the chance to see what they could have won, in the shape of Dele Adebola. The striker was rumoured to have been a January target of Davies' after we supposedly tabled a six figure bid, which was flatly turned down by the Robins. Hopefully Big Wes has a good day at the office and can keep him quiet.

The one thing we can derive a little hope from is the form book. It weighs heavilly in favour of the home side. In 61 meetings between the teams, Forest have won 26, lost 13 and drawn 22. If ever we needed a run to stay intact, it's now.

Some good news ahead of the game for Billy Davies, is that the ankle injury to James Perch is not as bad as expected. He could be in contention for a recall, as could Nathan Tyson. Lewis McGugan has been declared fit, after picking up a knock at Barnsley and Paul Anderson will be available once again, to give Davies a selection problem ahead of the game.

Whilst nothing will be decided this weekend, a win is paramount for us. With the Blunts of Sheffield away on Monday, we need a result over City to take into that game. Things are getting mighty tense at the moment and it could all come down to who has the most bottle. Come on you bleedin' Reds'!

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