Scout's Report: Forest

Cardiff City return to action on Saturday with a trip to the City Ground.

Cardiff City travel to the City Ground after the long international break, looking once again to maintain their position at the top of the Championship table.

 meant that the Bluebirds travelled back to South Wales with all three points from a very tricky fixture.Heidar HelgusonBefore the hiatus, City cemented their place at the summit of the table with a 2-1 away win at Ipswich Town, coming from behind after DJ Campbell controversially put the Tractor Boys ahead on the stroke of half time. Two second half goals from 

City's opponents this weekend, Nottingham Forest, currently lie twelfth in the Championship table after accumulating fourteen points from their ten games thus far. They recorded a 1-0 win at bottom side Peterborough last time out; however, that was their only win in their last six games and they've only won twice in total all season. Goals have been coming at a slow rate for the Reds of late; in the ten league games played so far, only twice have they netted more than once.

Key Players: With their disappointing nineteenth  the former Stoke man and Welsh international having featured in every league game since he joined the club. Greg Halford has also joined the ranks in an effort to sure up Forest’s porous defence.Danny Collins,place finish last campaign, there have been a number of changes in personnel at the City ground - manager Steve Cotterill being replaced by Sean O’Driscoll. A notable further addition is the arrival of now club captain 

.Lee Camp will be paramount to any potential success this term. Forest also have the services of one of the most highly regarded British keepers, Chris Cohen and Lewis McGugan, Dexter Blackstock, and winger James Coppinger seemingly adding more potency. Cox has scored three in the league after leaving West Brom and will no doubt get more with his Premier League pedigree. These players have been added to a squad with a number of talented players already on the books. Billy Sharp and Simon CoxThere have been additions in terms of attack too, with forwards 

Previous Meetings: Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest have met on forty-four occasions, and Cardiff have the better record with a total of twenty-one wins. Forest have notched up thirteen wins and ten of the games have ended in a stalemate. The Bluebirds held the bragging rights last year by doing the double though, earning 1-0 victories both home and away. In fact, Cardiff have only lost twice in their last ten visits to the City ground and will looking to make that eleven come Saturday evening.

Last Meeting - Nottingham Forest 0-1 Cardiff City (31/12/2011): A fifty-ninth minute header from Kenny Miller earned the Bluebirds all three points in the New Year’s Eve fixture last season. Peter Whittingham provided the cross for Miller to score just before the hour mark and that goal proved to be the difference. Nottingham Forest game close to an equaliser late on when Lewis McGugan struck a thirty-yard volley that went agonisingly wide of Marshall’s post.

Nottingham Forest:Smith, Majewski.Subs not used:  Camp, Cunningham, Chambers, Gunter, Lynch, McGugan, Greening (Reid,80), Moussi, McCleary, Tudgay, Findlay (Derbyshire, 6) (Bamford, 79). 

Cardiff City: Heaton, Gerrard, McPhail, Earnshaw.Subs not used: on, Miller, Gestede, Mason (Conway, 82). Marshall, Taylor, Hudson, Turner, Blake, Whittingham, Cowie, Gunnarss