Saturday sees the Matty Jarvis bandwagon roll into town with the arrival of Gillingham. One person though who won’t be on said bandwagon is former City Ground favourite Nicky Southall, who misses the game due to a contractual agreement between the two clubs. It would have been nice to give him a good send off, after all he did for us.
The race for promotion is well underway and The Reds prospects of achieving their goal is changing on a weekly if not daily basis. This time last week we looked to have shot it, but due to a plucky draw at the weekend and the failure of Bristol City to capitalise on their game in hand, all in the garden looks rosy again.
Forest at present sit just four points off an automatic place for promotion, level on points with Yeovil in third. So three points against the Gills is an absolute minimum requirement. As well as watching Forest, fans will have their eyes on other games in the division. Brizzle are away to Crewe, who lost 1-0 to the Gills last week and Yeovil are at home to Blackpool.
Gillingham are sitting in 16th place at the moment and have only won one of their last five games. But as we all know only too well, Forest fare none too well against teams in a poor run of form. Predicting the result of any game in this League is a proven waste of time, so I won’t bother. One significant piece of news about the game though is that the Gills camp may not be an entirely happy one, as manager Ronnie Jepson is being tipped for the Huddersfield job and star man Jarvis, according to Chairman (Ben Elton lookalike)Paul Scally. already has a club lined up for a summer move. Wonder who that could be then?
Vital Quotes:
Nottingham Forest Team News:
Missing will be defender Julian Bennett who begins a two match suspension for being Julian Bennett. So expect a return to the 3 at the back system we all know and love. Expect to see Nathan Tyson make a return as he played for the reserves in mid week and scored in the 3-1 win over Shrewsbury.
Player to watch: Lewis McGugan
The young 19 year old has made a big impact for The Reds, since taking over from the injured Sammy Clingan and has been a revelation. His ability and composure have been a pleasure to watch.
Gillingham Team News:
Matty Jarvis is expected to return after missing the last two games with a groin strain. As mentioned Nicky Southall is forced to miss the game.
Player to watch: Mr. Mathew Jarvis.
The reason Forest are courting the player so much, is because he is a talented left winger who is equally at home on the right. He also has pace and can score. He may well come in for some stick during the game, but don’t be too surprised if he pops up with a goal.
Match Facts & Stats
The two sides have met a total of 15 times in the League. Forest have won 7, lost 4 and drawn 4. Last time out at the Priestfield Stadium, The Reds ran out 1-0 winners, thanks to a goal from guess who? Nicky Southall.
