Struggling Peterborough to get lost among Tricky Trees

Nottingham Forest have turned the corner in the Championship since Steve Cooper moved into the manager’s office and they should have enough to beat relegation-threatened Peterborough on Saturday.

The Tricky Trees have drawn five of their last six games – their latest stalemate was a goalless clash at West Brom on Friday – but leaders Fulham are the only team to have beaten them since the 2-0 loss to Middlesbrough on September 15 that cost Copper’s predecessor Chris Hughton his job.

Forest drew 0-0 with Luton in their last home match but they had to play the final half an hour with ten men after full-back Jack Colback had been sent off and they beat Preston 3-0 in their previous City Ground outing when striker Lewis Grabban scored twice.

Peterborough, meanwhile, have failed to score in their last four matches, including a bore-draw at home to fellow strugglers Barnsley on Saturday.

A 2-1 victory at Hull is the only one of ten away league games this season that they haven’t lost and this looks a tough trip.

READING v HULL

Reading have been handed a six-point deduction which has left the Royals looking over their shoulders in the Championship and they could be vulnerable against resurgent Hull after taking just one point from their last four games at the Madejski Stadium.

Blackpool, Bournemouth and Sheffield United have all left with a full return recently and they face a Tigers team who have turned around their fortunes in the last few weeks.

Grant McCann’s outfit were sliding down the table after five straight defeats, but there was hope in the fact that the final three losses of that run, against Luton, Coventry and West Brom, were all by 1-0 scorelines.

Since then they have picked up four straight wins, the latest being a 2-1 home success over Millwall on Saturday, and the trip to Berkshire looks another good opportunity for them.

MIDDLESBROUGH v SWANSEA

Middlesbrough landed their first win under Chris Wilder when they posted a 2-1 success at Huddersfield on Saturday, but they still have plenty of work to do and Swansea can down them at the Riverside.

Boro have taken just one point from their last three games at home, the latest defeat being a 2-1 loss to Preston when they surrendered the lead.

They have won four home matches this season, but three of those have been against teams in the bottom seven, including the last two against relegation candidates Peterborough and Barnsley.

Swansea lost 3-2 at home to Reading on Saturday but they should have little to fear after recent away successes against Coventry and Barnsley and they have failed to score in just two of their nine matches on the road.

MILLWALL v BIRMINGHAM

Gary Rowett’s Millwall are the Championship’s draw specialists with nine stalemates in their 20 league outings this term, but they should be able to get over the line against Birmingham.

A 1-0 success over Reading at the beginning of November has been the only occasion in their last six games that the Lions have claimed three points, but one defeat in their last eight at The Den demonstrates what a tough place their south London base is to visit.

Meanwhile, Birmingham have scored in just one of their last seven away games so it is difficult to put much confidence in Lee Bowyer’s Blues.

SUNDERLAND v OXFORD

Plymouth, who led League One last week, are the only team to have beaten Oxford in their last ten league matches and Karl Robinson’s team are ticking along nicely in what is turning into a congested picture at the top of the table.

They should head to the

Stadium of Light with plenty of hope as, while Sunderland have steadied the ship over the last couple of weeks, it is not so long ago that they suffered a home loss to Charlton, who were struggling at the time, posted heavy defeats at Rotherham and Sheffield Wednesday and were then knocked out of the FA Cup by League Two Mansfield.

The Black Cats have picked up seven points in their last three games but Oxford drew with leaders Rotherham on Saturday and are worthy of a small investment on the drawno-bet market.