It could be a defining Easter weekend for Nottingham Forest in their promotion bid, as they aim to keep their fabulous form going.
A 2-0 victory over Birmingham City on Saturday made it five league wins in a row and 10 games unbeaten in the Championship. The Reds are up to third in the table, just six points below second-placed Bournemouth.
The big games keep on coming, though. And next up is a trip to top-six rivals Luton Town on Friday.
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Boss Steve Cooper faces something of a selection dilemma for that one, having named the same starting XI for each of his team’s three games since returning from the international break. Does he stick with a winning side again?
Cooper admitted after beating the Blues that he had considered making changes to his line-up. But after sleeping on the decision, he decided to stick with the players who had built up momentum.
"It was tough. It was a dilemma,” he said.
"At the start of the week, I thought I would make changes at some stage. And probably, if it had gone well, it would have been this one.
"But I slept on it and decided to go with momentum.”
In each of those three fixtures, he has brought on winger Joe Lolley, and strikers Lewis Grabban and Sam Surridge from off the bench. And each time, the trio have impressed.
Grabban, in particular, will be keen to get back in the first-team, having eased his way back into action following injury. He has looked sharp, as has Surridge, with both breathing down the neck of Keinan Davis.
The Aston Villa loanee scored his fifth goal of the campaign at the City Ground, however, and gave the visitors a torrid afternoon. He almost looks undroppable at the moment.
Cooper could play Davis and Grabban together, as he has done before, with the latter occupying a deeper role or on the left. But that would mean leaving out one of the other attacking players. Could Grabban’s experience and goal-poacher instincts be vital in what might be a tight game, however?
It seems unlikely Cooper will make too many tweaks. He will not want to risk disrupting the belief which has built up, although the quick turnaround to Monday’s clash at home to West Bromwich Albion may well be on his mind.
Luton will provide a tough test. The Hatters have lost once in their last six games and are fifth in the table, two points below Forest. They have a strong home record this term, with just four defeats from 20 league games played.
Predicted Forest XI: Samba; Worrall, Figueiredo, McKenna; Spence, Yates, Garner, Colback; Johnson, Davis, Zinckernagel.
