Vital QPR assesses Saturday’s opponents – Nottingham Forest
THE LATEST
The penultimate fixture of the Championship campaign, with both sides yet to find themselves mathematically safe. Both have changed managers since they last met with Philippe Montanier and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink biting the bullet for Forest and Rangers respectively.
Mark Warburton now has the task of keeping the Tricky Trees in the second tier – a task made all the more plausible after a slender home victory over playoff chasing Reading last weekend. One more win all-but secures safety but in all likelihood a Blackburn defeat would more than likely secure their stay.
A tumultuous season started by giving Armand Traoré a three-year deal – two more years to go boys. It saw Montanier assemble a squad that seemingly wasn’t able to cope with the rigours of Championship football. He was dismissed in January but was not replaced until March as Forest ambled aimlessly towards the relegation places.
This set against the backdrop of an owner who is making the club increasingly difficult to sell and it had the potential to be disaster culminating in League One football. After a shaky start, Warburton has now steadied the ship with two wins from the last four, something that might just be the boost they need to propel them to safety.
It could have been very different had either Rotherham United or Wigan Athletic put together a run of wins but the most likely scenario now sees two teams that have been incredibly mediocre in the second half of the season, inching their way to safety on Saturday afternoon.
FACTS & FIGURES
Founded: 1855
Nickname: Forest/ The Reds
Ground: The City Ground – 30,602
Manager: Mark Warburton
HONOURS & RECORDS
HONOURS
First Tier
First Division – Winners: 1978
First Division – Runners Up: 1967, 1979
Second Tier
Division One – Winners: 1998
Division One – Runners Up: 1994
Cup
European Cup – Winners: 1979, 1980
European Super Cup – Winners: 1979
European Super Cup – Runners Up: 1980
Intercontinental Cup – Runners Up: 1980
FA Cup – Winners: 1898, 1959
FA Cup – Runners Up: 1991
League Cup – Winners: 1978, 1979, 1989, 1990
League Cup – Runners Up: 1980, 1992
RECORDS
Record Attendance: 49946 v Manchester United (First Division, 1967)
Record victory: 14-0 v Clapton (FA Cup, 1891)
Record defeat 1-9 v Blackburn Rovers (Second Division, 1937)
Record Buy: Britt Assombalonga – £5,000,000 from Peterborough United (August 2014)
Record Sale: Oliver Burke – £13,000,000 to RB Leipzig (August 2016)
Record Appearances: Bob McKinlay – 692 (1951-1970)
Record Goals: Grenville Morris – 217 (1898-1913)
THIS SEASON – STATS
GOALS: Britt Assombalonga – 12, Apostolos Vellios – 6, Ben Osborn – 4, Zach Clough – 4.
YELLOWS: Danny Fox – 9, Eric Lichaj – 9, Matt Mills – 8, Hildeberto Pereira – 8.
REDS: Hildeberto Pereira – 3, Matt Mills – 1, Danny Fox – 1, Damien Perquis – 1.
SQUAD LIST
2 – Eric Lichaj
3 – Daniel Pinillos
4 – Michael Mancienne
5 – Matt Mills
6 – Armand Traoré
7 – Matty Fryatt
8 – Chris Cohen
9 – Britt Assombalonga
10 – Joao Teixeira (on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers)
11 – Ben Osborn
12 – Nicolao Dumitru (on loan from Napoli)
13 – Danny Fox
15 – Aaron Tshibola (on loan from Aston Villa)
16 – Zach Clough
17 – Hildeberto Pereira (on loan from Benfica)
18 – Mustapha Carayol
19 – Jamie Ward
21 – Gboly Ariyibi
22 – Pajtim Kasami (on loan from Olympiacos)
24 – David Vaughan
25 – Jack Hobbs
26 – Dimitar Evtimov
27 – Damien Perquis
28 – Thomas Lam
30 – Stephen Henderson
38 – Vladimir Stojković
39 – Apostolos Vellios
40 – Alex Iacovitti
41 – Matty Cash
42 – Joe Worrall
43 – Jordan Smith
45 – Ben Brereton
50 – Ross McCormack (on loan from Aston Villa)
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