Forest v Reading: Must Win Game #1

The phrase 'must win game' is much over used in football parlance, but if Nottingham Forest harbour any aspirations of promotion, then the game against Reading at the City Ground today, most certainly is. Infact, it could be the first of 7 must win games for the Reds', as they look to get their season back on track.

Reading are the form team in the division at the moment and are on a great run that has seen them leapfrog us in the table to occupy 6th place. The Royals are unbeaten in their last 9 League games, whilst we're without a win in our last 8. The previous 6 games show that Forest have won 0, drawn 2 and lost 4. Reading however, have won 5 and drawn 1 of their previous 6 games. The form guide suggests that it should be a walk in the park for the visitors, but there were signs in the performance against Leeds last week to indicate that a recovery for Forest might be about to begin.

The 4-1 defeat at Elland Road last week, proved much more costly than the loss of 3 points of course, with 2 more players becoming unavailable. Chris Cohen begins the first of a 3 match suspension for his unfortunate red card and Paul Anderson looks likely to miss out with suspected broken ribs. Captain Paul McKenna remains a doubt, but there could be good news on the horizon with the welcome return of Guy Moussi.

In 27 League meetings between the teams, Forest have won 12, drawn 7 and lost 8. Earlier this season, we managed a 1-1 draw at the Madejski Stadium through a Robert Earnshaw equaliser. Only a fool would bet against a Reading win today, so I'm going for a 3-1 win to the Reds'!

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