PREVIEW: Nottingham Forest hope to carry confidence from European progression into clash at Brighton | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest could relieve some pressure in their relegation scrap if they manage to earn three points, while 14th-place Brighton is aiming to build on their latest morale-boosting victory over Brentford.

The Tricky Trees suffered defeat to Brighton in November at the City Ground under Sean Dyche, despite putting seven past the Seagulls last term at home.

This epitomised the club’s tumultuous decline in the Premier League, which has now put them on the brink of the drop zone.

Nonetheless, Vitor Pereira’s opening games at the helm has brewed optimism that Forest can remain in the top flight next season.

They progressed to the last 16 of the Europa League in midweek when Callum Hudson-Odoi’s goal eased the tension considerably, with Fenerbahce sensing they could turn the tie around.

Liverpool’s last-minute winner was a cruel outcome for Forest in Pereira’s first league game in charge, as they were by far the superior side, especially in the first half.

There was little sign of a hangover from the trip to Turkey just three days prior, a key advantage to maintain when competing on two fronts.

Still, Forest have picked up fewer points than West Ham since they went to the London Stadium and ran out winners at the start of the year.

They have mainly been hampered by their inability to convert chances, something Pereira is keen to address.

If West Ham pull off the unlikely outcome of sealing maximum points at Anfield on Saturday, Forest would fall into the bottom three for the first time this season.

Pereira clarified that first-choice goalkeeper Matz Sels would return to training on Monday, still ruling him out for the match against Brighton.

Full-back Nicolo Savona remains a doubt as he faces ongoing assessments of his injury, and Chris Wood is set for several more weeks on the sidelines to recover from knee surgery.

Although Brighton have struggled to put points on the board since the turn of the year, they sit in 14th place and in control of their own direction of travel.

They endured six Premier League games without a victory before travelling to Brentford, where Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck netted first-half goals to claim all the spoils.

James Milner, 40, reached the milestone of achieving the most appearances in Premier League history in last weekend’s win, too.

Brighton head coach Fabian Hürzeler cautioned that the veteran midfielder “needs a bit more recovery time than maybe in former times.”

But, he reassured Brighton fans that Milner, “looked sharp again in the last two days on the training pitch, therefore he’s definitely again an option for the weekend.”

Heading into the last 11 league games, having the majority of his squad at his disposal serves as an advantage for the Brighton boss.

The Seagulls also have the boost of the returning Yasin Ayari, who has not featured since the draw with Everton in late January.

Hürzeler said, “He will have his first training session, and hopefully everything goes well, and then he might be an option for the weekend.”

Improving on their 8th-place finish from last season, when they narrowly missed out on European football, will undoubtedly require more consistency from Hurzeler’s men.

For the visitors, a positive result on the south coast would strengthen their hopes of survival and perhaps build the confidence needed to gradually steer clear of the relegation battle.

The match will take place on Sunday, 1st March at the Amex Stadium with kick-off scheduled at 2pm.