Race for the Premier League - Can Billy Davies Lead Forest Back into the Promise Land?

The race for promotion to the Premier League is hotting up as the sun shines brighter in the UK.

While Cardiff City appear to have sealed at least automatic promotion to the Premier League barring a late, late collapse, the race behind is quite interesting.

Yes, Watford, Hull City and Crystal Palace appear fairly settled in the playoff spots based on the current league table, the chase behind appears to be heating up.

On the one hand, you have sides like Leicester and Middlesbrough who are in poor form and seem to be heading out of the playoff spots having run out of steam after recent unbeaten runs. On the other hand, you have sides like Bolton, Leeds and Brighton in great form who have the potential to sneak up into one of the automatic promotion spots.

Another side like that is Nottingham Forest who are surely the hottest team in the Championship right now. Since the return of Billy Davies, Forest have gone on an incredible run which has seen them go from being out of the running for the playoffs to the possibility of snatching 2nd place come the end of April.

Billy Davies is back and better than ever.

To be fair, this is the sort of form we were expecting from Forest at the start of the season. They were bought by the al-Hasawi family and many had hailed them to be the Manchester City of the Championship. Alas, a managerial merry-go-round ensued at the City Ground which definitely stymied the club's progress early on. Sean O'Driscoll's sacking was a shock to everyone and certainly the team and Alex McLeish's appointment was baffling to say the least.

However, Billy Davies appears to have solved the problems left as a result of Forest's flirtation with managers and the charges from his previous reign are answering in kind.

I shan't predict how they will go in their next few games. However, their game at Cardiff on 13 April will be one to watch.

It seemed unlikely earlier in the season but Bolton might have timed their rise to formto perfection

As mentioned earlier, Bolton are also in great form and it appears Dougie Freedman has finally found the right formula at the club. They probably have the best squad in the Championship with plenty of Premier League quality players and might be the team best prepared for a tilt at promotion. Bar Cardiff City, they may also have the best run-in to the end of the season.

Bolton's poor start to the season might have cost them a chance of automatic promotion but their form at the end of the season may mean they're the side no one wants to face in the playoffs - which bodes well for a swift return to the Premier League.

My tip? Cardiff City and Nottingham Forest for automatic promotion, Bolton Wanderers to beat Watford for the final Premier League spot at Wembley.