There are two matches to enjoy in the English Championship on Friday night, one of which is the clash between Nottingham Forest and Millwall. Nottingham Forest will see this as the ideal opportunity to get their campaign off to a winning start at home against a team who won promotion from League One.
Last season was full of disappointment for Nottingham Forest as they finished 21st in the Championship, on the same number of points as relegated Blackburn Rovers. A 3-0 win at home on the last day of the season secured their safety and they will be hoping for a similar result from this match.
Millwall enjoyed a superb 2016/17 campaign and won promotion via the playoffs. It will be interesting to see how they adapt to life in the Championship under Neil Harris.
Nottingham Forest Form
Nottingham Forest have enjoyed a good preseason under Mark Warburton, winning 3 and drawing 1 of their 4 friendly games.
They conceded only 2 goals in those 4 games and the defence is one area of the team they will be hoping to improve at the City Ground. Last season Nottingham Forest conceded 72 goals in the Championship, only bottom club Rotherham United had a worse record.
At home in the Championship, Nottingham Forest won 3, drew 1 and lost 1 of their last 5 games and will be hoping to continue that form into this season.
Millwall Form
Millwall defeated Granada in their final friendly of preseason 3-0 at home. However, this was their only victory prior to the start of this campaign as they lost 1 and drew 3 of their other 4 friendly matches.
Having finished 6th in League One last season, Millwall caused a surprise by winning promotion to the Championship via the playoffs. Their goal difference of +9 was the worst of any team in the top 8 places in the league.
Millwall enjoyed a good run of results towards the end of the League One season, losing only 1 of their 6 games on the road, 4 of which were wins.
Team News
Nottingham Forest will be without the injured Matty Cash and Jamie Ward for the opening game of the season. News signings Jason Cummings, Daryl Murphy, Barrie McKay, Tendayi Darikwa and Andreas Bouchalakis are all available for selection.
Millwall may set up in a similar way to their successful friendly match against Granada. That could mean starts for Jed Wallace, Shaun Williams and Aiden O’Brien, all of whom scored in that game.
Top Betting Tips
Towards the end of last season, 6 of Nottingham Forest’s 8 games produced under 2.5 goals and so did 9 of Millwall’s last 14 competitive matches. As this is the first game of the season, we could be in for a tight game and under 2.5 goals is 3/4 at Ladbrokes.
Millwall look in good shape going into this match, having had a decent preseason and the confidence will be flowing from the end of last season. With just 1 defeat in their previous 6 competitive away games, the Lions will believe they can pick up a point from this game. The draw is 9/4 at William Hill.
Lee Gregory was Millwall’s top scorer last season and the striker will be hoping to open his Championship account in this game. Gregory is 11/5 with William Hill to score at any time.