Colback starts: The predicted Nottingham Forest XI to face Luton on Friday

Nottingham Forest will be hoping to extend their winning run in the Championship to six games and put more pressure on second-place Bournemouth when they travel to face fellow top six side Luton Town on Friday. 

The Reds have picked up exactly where they left off after the international break – winning three on the bounce – and are the form team in the Championship at the moment.

They’ve climbed to fourth and are now just six points back from the Cherries, who have been wobbling of late.

Steve Cooper will know that his side will need to be near-perfect over the next seven games if they’re to pinch the second automatic promotion place off the South Coast club but his full focus, for the time being, has to be on Luton.

The Hatters have been one of the Championship’s surprise packages this season and are battling for a play-off spot.

They’ve made themselves a really tough side to play against and despite a recent blip, Nathan Jones will have his side right up for this one.

It would be a real statement victory for the hosts and so Cooper will have to ensure the balance of his team is just right.

With that in mind, we’ve outlined the starting XI we expect the Welsh coach to name on Friday…

Brice Samba has re-established himself as Forest’s clear first choice in recent weeks and it would be a surprise to see him lose the number one jersey to Ethan Horvath for this one.

With Steve Cook likely to be unavailable due to injury, the back three of Scott McKenna, Tobias Figueiredo, and Joe Worrall should reprise their roles.

Max Lowe remains sidelined as well, with Cooper suggesting he’s behind Cook on the road to recovery, but Jack Colback has filled in at left wing-back excellently in recent weeks.

That means James Garner and Ryan