Our prediction for this Championship match:
After saving one point in a midweek clash with Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest will be looking to return to winning ways in the Championship when they take on Stoke City on Saturday afternoon. The Reds aim to put an end to their three-game winless run, but this match will be anything but a walk in the park for the home team. The Potters have been struggling to find their form of late as well, with the team failing to win the previous four league fixtures.
Anyhow, both sides will be with guards down in Saturday’s clash, and we believe that punters from all four corners of the world can find value in betting on both teams to score. Experienced attacker Lewis Grabban is widely expected to return to Forest’s starting XI after scoring a late equalizer in the 1-1 draw with Birmingham City.
Highlighted Player (Jack Colback):
After spending nine years at Sunderland youth academy, Jack Colback signed a loan deal with Ipswich Town on 6 August, 2009. The left-footed midfielder, who is capable of playing at left back as well, made 37 appearances for the Championship side, scoring four goals in the English second tier.
Against all odds, Colback decided to sign for Sunderland’s bitterest rivals Newcastle United on 9 June, 2014 and it has to be noted he became the first player to move directly from Sunderland to Newcastle since 1998 when Lionel Perez did the same. In 2015 Sunderland fans created a sick banner depicting Colback hanging with a noose around his neck and that caused uproar on social media.
Colback and his teammates from Newcastle dropped to the Championship at the end of the 2015/2016 season, but he decided not to leave the club. Colback scored 5 goals in 64 appearances for Newcastle United in the Premier League. He is well known for his passing skills, he rarely gives the ball away and journalist often compare him with Italy ace Andrea Pirlo.
Highlighted Team (Stoke City):
Stoke City FC (named Stoke FC until 1925) is an English football club from the city Stoke-on-Trent (located in the north of England). De club was founded in the year 1863 and next to Notts County FC the club from Stoke is the oldest professional football club worldwide. Different signs of Stoke City show that the club is founded in 1868. Currently Stoke City is playing in the Premier League. The home games of Stoke City are hosted in the Britannia Stadium which holds a capacity for 29 000 spectators.
The most known nickname of Stoke City FC is the Potters. The main club colors of the club are red and white. The away it is colored in blue. The only 3 prizes Stoke City managed to win so far are the League Cup in 1972 and the Football League Trophy twice (1992 and 2000). Famous players that played for Stoke City FC are: Ameobi, Gudjohnsen and Peter Crouch.