Two consecutive blank weekends mean Forest have some ground to make up in terms of fixtures but despite not playing since November 29, Billy Davies's side are still not far away from being in the thick of things at the right end of the table.
The Reds lie 15th in the Championship but only six points away from the play-off places and now face two teams in the bottom four before the big game against local rivals Derby County.
Crystal Palace are the visitors to the City Ground next Saturday before a Boxing Day trip to the Riverside Stadium where Middlesbrough are the hosts.
A maximum haul from those two fixture will set up a raucous atmosphere for the Rams visit.
Davies meanwhile is not too concerned with the future of defender Julian Bennett, currently on loan at Saturday's opponents Crystal Palace.
He told the Nottingham Evening Post: "Talking about Julian Bennett at the moment and what will happen in January is far from my mind at the moment.
"It is all about preparing for games and looking at the next match and keep doing our due diligence and preparation for January.