It’s almost time! The long ’summer’ wait will soon be over, with the Championship kicking off it’s new season tonight and Brendan Rodgers leading his team out for the first time in a professional game tomorrow afternoon. There is a sense of deja vu about the fixture; this time last year we began our season against the same opposition, playing out a 0-0 draw at the City Ground, but this time we’ll be looking to kick off with a win. This was a result that evaded us last season, with Forest beating us 1-0 in the return fixture courtesy of a last-minute sinker in the midst of mediocre mid-season.
Things could scarcely be more different this time around. Five of the starting eleven of last years opener are no longer with the club. Two more are not expected to be here come September. Many established players have gone and been replaced, largely, with the fruits of the academy. Karacan, Federici, Henry, Robson-Kanu, Davies and Alex Pearce are all expected to feature much more heavily than they did last time around. Of those that started at the City Ground, only Rosenior, Kebe and Matejovsky can be expected to do so again this time around.
Nottingham Forest have also had a reshuffle over the past year. Colin Calderwood was replaced in the hotseat by Billy Davies, who has done a good job so far. Dexter Blackstock will be a good signing for them and should get them amongst the goals and general predictions expect them to do better than last time around. I’d be tempted to agree that mid-table is a realistic position for Forest to finish.
Reading are missing several key players. Andre Bikey is serving a five-match suspension, while Harper and Stephen Hunt face fitness tests on groin injuries. Noel Hunt and Matejovsky may also miss out. Forest are without Guy Moussi, who was a monster against us this time last year, and James Perch, who I’ll admit to not having heard of. I’d expect us to line up something like this:
Federici
Rosenior
Pearce (c)
Cisse
Bertrand
Karacan
Tabb
Davies
Kebe
Robson-Kanu
Long
Prediction: I’m going to plump for a winning start for Brendan Rodgers, although it won’t come easily. If I were a betting man, and I am, my money would be on a 2-1 win to the Royals. We may go behind, but the faith in youth will pay off with a goal from Robson-Kanu to equalise and a Long winner towards the end.
Posted by toddnash 
