The Sky Blues host Nottingham Forest at St Andrew’s on Tuesday night. Here’s everything you need to know about our opponents.

Fact File

Name: Nottingham Forest

Founded: 1865

Stadium: The City Ground (first opened 1898)

Capacity: 30,445

Nickname: Forest, The Reds

Address: City Ground, West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, NG2 5FJ

Pitch Size: 115 x 78 yards

The Opposition

Nottingham Forest are currently 21^st in the table just three points above the relegation zone having played more matches than all three teams below them.

The Reds are managed by Chris Hughton and their top scorer is striker Lyle Taylor who has four goals so far this season, which includes his strike against the Sky Blues earlier in the campaign.

The Nottinghamshire club are in good form having lost just once in their last eight league matches conceding only five goals over that period.

Manager

Chris Hughton was appointed as Nottingham Forest manager last October, having previously enjoyed a five-year stint in charge of Brighton & Hove Albion.

Hughton began his coaching career with former club Tottenham Hotspur, twice taking caretaker charge of the club, and spent 14-years on the coaching staff before joining Newcastle United initially as first-team coach.

After two spells in charge as caretaker manager, Hughton was given the manager’s role on a permanent basis in October 2009 and guided the Magpies to the Championship title in style, but despite making a good start to the following season, he was surprisingly dismissed by Newcastle in December 2010.

The 61-year-old returned to management with Birmingham City in June 2011, helping the West Midlands club reach the Championship play-offs before losing in the semi-finals to Blackpool.

He moved to Norwich City in June 2012 and guided the Canaries to an impressive 11^th place finish in the Premier League in his first season in charge and was well-placed to keep them up the following season before his dismissal in April 2014.

Hughton was then appointed as Brighton manager in December 2014, keeping the Seagulls in the second tier, before leading them to a third place finish the following campaign where they were denied automatic promotion on the final day season and would go on to lose to Sheffield Wednesday in the play-offs.

However, Hughton was able to guide the club into the Premier League for the first time in their history in 2016/17, narrowly missing out on the title after conceding a late goal against Aston Villa on the final day of the season.

He helped the Seagulls retain their top-flight status for the next two seasons, which included reaching the FA Cup semi-finals in 2018/19, before departing in May 2019.

With Forest, Hughton has managed 24 matches recording seven wins, eight draws and nine defeats.

Last Six Games

Drew – Nottingham Forest 0-0 Barnsley (Sky Bet Championship)

Lost – Swansea 5-1 Nottingham Forest (Emirates FA Cup)

Lost – Nottingham Forest 1-2 Middlesbrough (Sky Bet Championship)

Won – Nottingham Forest 3-1 Millwall (Sky Bet Championship)

Won – Nottingham Forest 1-0 Cardiff City (Emirates FA Cup)

Won – Preston 0-1 Nottingham Forest (Sky Bet Championship)

Last Time We Met

The two sides met in the Sky Bet Championship earlier in this season with City suffering a last gasp defeat at the City Ground in November.

Scott McKenna put Forest ahead after the ball broke kindly to the defender following a scramble in the penalty area.

Max Biamou hit the post before Callum O’Hare equalised for City with an excellent header from Sam McCallum’s early cross.

Forest keeper Brice Samba then denied O’Hare from close range and Leo Ostigard’s powerful header as City went in search of a winner.

However, the hosts won the game with the final kick through Lyle Taylor’s stoppage time penalty.

Head-to-Head Record

Sky Blues Wins – 19

Draws – 28

Nottingham Forest Wins – 46

Club Connections

Carlton Palmer

Former England international Carlton Palmer moved to the Sky Blues from Forest, spending a season with both clubs.

Palmer came through the ranks at West Bromwich Albion, making over 100 appearances for the Baggies before making his name at Sheffield Wednesday.

The midfielder was suspended for the final but played in every round of the Owls 1991 League Cup success, also helping the club reach the FA Cup final two years later.

After making more than 200 appearances for Wednesday, Palmer signed for Yorkshire rivals Leeds United, playing over a century of games for the Whites, and was a runner-up in the 1996 League Cup final.

He spent two seasons with Southampton before joining Nottingham Forest in January 1999, scoring one goals in 16 appearances for the Reds.

Palmer left Forest to join the Sky Blues in September that same year and would go on to make 35 appearances for City, scoring once, before departing the club in November 2001, having been loaned out to both Watford and Sheffield Wednesday during his spell at Highfield Road.

Following his time at the Sky Blues he became player-manager at Stockport County and spent two years with the club before being sacked.

He would later play for Dublin City in Ireland and spent a season in charge of Mansfield Town before retiring from the game.

Sammy Clingan

Northern Ireland international Sammy Clingan impressed for both clubs, gaining promotion with Forest before making a century of appearances for the Sky Blues.

Clingan began his career with Wolves and spent two seasons on loan at Chesterfield before completing a permanent move to Forest in January 2006.

He helped the Reds secure promotion to the Championship in 2007/08, finishing as runners-up in League One, playing a total of 96 games for the club and scoring one goal before leaving for Norwich City that summer.

The midfielder would spend just one season with the Canaries, who suffered relegation to League One, signing for the Sky Blues in July 2009.

He was made club captain ahead of the 2011/12 campaign, his last in City colours, departing the club having made exactly 100 appearances and scoring seven goals across three seasons.

The 37-year-old had a brief spell with Doncaster Rovers before signing for Scottish side Kilmarnock where he spent the next two and a half seasons.

Clingan returned to his native Northern Ireland with Linfield in July 2016 and currently plays for Glenavon where he has spent the past four seasons.

Match Officials

Tony Harrington will be the man in the middle on Tuesday night, taking charge of his 22^nd game of the 2020/21 season.

He last refereed the Sky Blues back in December 2017, when City won 3-2 against Wycombe Wanderers at the Ricoh Arena in League Two.

This will be Harrington’s ninth season as a Football League referee and he has officiated the Sky Blues on three previous occasions, with City winning one, drawing one and losing one of those matches.

So far, Harrington has awarded 51 yellow cards and two red cards across 21 matches in the Championship, Emirates FA Cup and Carabao Cup.

He will be assisted by Shaun Hudson and Nik Barnard with Matthew Donohue acting as fourth official.