Championship Relegation Tip: Nottingham Forest

This may seem like a strange tip after Forest kickstarted the new Championship season with a win. But that has only improved our odds out to a best price 8/1 with Bet365 while doing little to make me re-think their prospects.

In reality Mark Warburton’s team were at home to one of the relegation favourites, Millwall, on Friday night. And they got battered, but somehow escaped with the most fortunate of victories.

With 45 matches to go those three points are largely unimportant when you consider that Forest only survived courtesy of goal difference on 51 points in May.

They conceded a woeful 72 goals, considerably more than both Wigan and Blackburn who are both beginning life in League One this time around.

Without the 14 league goals of Britt Assombalonga, Forest would have been doomed and having sold their prize asset to Boro over the summer, it could be curtains.

Daryl Murphy has come in as a replacement but at the age of 34 is he really the answer? There have been other new additions but there is no way this club wouldn’t be one of the short price favourites for the drop without a proud history boosting their credentials in the eyes of many.

Let’s base our verdict on a terrible defence and the loss of their best player rather than what they did in the 1970s.