Forest to heap more misery on Championship strugglers Bristol City
Published:
Jamie Clark, Sports Editor | October 15, 2015
Bristol City v Nottingham Forest
Championship
Friday, October 16th
Kick-off: 19:45 BST
Ashton Gate, Bristol
Live on Sky Sports 1
Robins boss Cotterill takes on former club
Steve Cotterill’s close-knit Bristol City squad were so impressive en route to the League One title last term, but a return to the Championship has brought Robins supporters down to earth with a rude awakening.
We’re now 10 games into the second tier season and City prop up the table, so Friday night’s Ashton Gate visitors Nottingham Forest look a smart bet at an awesome 11/5 price with Coral for three points on their travels.
Bristol City bottom of league and leaking goals
Cotterill’s Bristol boys have the joint-worst defensive record in the Championship, with an alarming average of two goals per game conceded. Star defender Aden Flint, who proved a threat in both boxes last season, has had a very rude awakening after sensational scoring exploits in the third tier.
The Robins thus look very short indeed at 13/10 for a win that would take them out of the bottom three, but their small squad should be stretched by some exciting loan talents at Forest’s disposal.
Desperate as Cotterill should be to get one over his former club, City have just 21 senior players to pick from, as out-of-favour Egyptian defender Adam El Abd has gone out on loan to Swindon Town, with Norwich City winger Elliott Bennett and ex-Forest forward Simon Cox (now owned by Reading) recently drafted in. Korey Smith and Liam Moore are in contention to return after injury, but Scott Wagstaff is still sidelined.
Will Cox come back to haunt Forest?
Irish attacker Cox is an appealing 7/4 in the anytime market to come back to bite the East Midlands outfit on what would be his Robins debut, while Bristol City’s other threat is in-form Jonathan Kodjia with five in his last six. The French forward is 5/1 to break the deadlock on home turf.
Dougie Freedman’s Forest, meanwhile, are performing much better on the road than at home, going unbeaten away since losing on the opening night at surprise package Brighton and Hove Albion. Cape Verde international wideman Ryan Mendes is a tasty 10/3 to be on target for the trip in succession.
Nelson Oliveira, who was on loan with Premier League outfit Swansea City last term and has caps for Portugal, meanwhile, is also 7/4 to net anytime. Forest are without defensive trio Eric Lichaj (ban), Michael Mancienne (hamstring) and Matt Mills (also banned) for this fixture, though, while midfielder Kyle Ebecilio is absent through injury.
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