Nottingham Forest will be without Sam Byram (knee), Hilel Soudani (knee), Michael Dawson (hamstring), Michael Hefele (achilles) and Juan Rafael Fuentes (leg) for Saturday’s Championship clash with Reading, but Costel Pantilimon (back), Tobias Figueiredo (leg) and Lewis Grabban (achilles) could return, as per the Sports Gambler and Online Betting.
Forest travel to the Madejski Stadium to face a Reading side in woeful form, but the departure of Aitor Karanka could have a negative effect on the players. The Reds manager stepped down on Friday afternoon and Simon Ireland will assume responsibilities in a caretaker role until a permanent appointment is made.
Ahead of Saturday’s meeting, Forest are seventh in the Championship with 39 points from 26 games, having ended their five-game winless run with victory over Leeds United on January 1. With Reading enduring a 10-game run without a win ahead, Forest should still fancy their chances of coming out on top.
The Royals are 23rd in the table and find themselves five points adrift of safety. Only Ipswich Town have lost more games (15) and won fewer (2) than Reading (14 & 4), so there’s no reason why Ireland can’t get his caretaker stint off to a winning start. Victory could see Forest move within a point of the playoffs.
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Nottingham Forest dealt blow in pursuit of English international, manager says ‘no’
