Nottingham Forest vs Man City: Preview, predictions and lineups
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The City Ground plays host to a significant contest in the Premier League’s top-four race as Nottingham Forest take on Manchester City.
Very few would’ve projected this fixture to have such importance in the race for the Champions League places when the season got underway. Nottingham Forest have emerged as the division’s surprise-package and currently sit third in the top flight, while City’s post-four-straight titles hangover means they occupy fourth with 11 games to go.
Pep Guardiola’s side will usurp their hosts with a victory this weekend, though. City reduced the gap on Forest to just a point after they won away at Tottenham Hotspur last time out.
The two sides head into the bout in rather spotty Premier League form, but they each progressed into the FA Cup quarter-finals last weekend. After City overcame a scare to beat giant killers Plymouth, Forest downed Ipswich Town 5-4 on penalties.
Here’s 90min’s guide to the Saturday’s Premier League clash.
Nottingham Forest vs Man City head-to-head record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Nottingham Forest |
Man City |
|---|---|
|
Nottingham Forest 1-1 (5-4p) Ipswich – 03/03/25 |
Man City 3-1 Plymouth – 01/03/25 |
|
Nottingham Forest 0-0 Arsenal – 26/02/25 |
Tottenham 0-1 Man City – 26/02/25 |
|
Newcastle 4-3 Nottingham Forest – 23/02/25 |
Man City 0-2 Liverpool – 23/02/25 |
|
Fulham 2-1 Nottingham Forest – 15/02/25 |
Real Madrid 3-1 Man City – 19/02/25 |
|
Exeter 2-2 (2-4p) Nottingham Forest – 11/02/25 |
Man City 4-0 Newcastle – 15/02/25 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
discovery+, discovery+ App, TNT Sports 1TNT Sports Ultimate |
|
United States |
fuboTV, nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, USA Network, UNIVERSO |
|
Canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Forest went the distance with Ipswich on Monday night but Nuno’s squad remains injury-free. There are no fresh fitness concerns to discuss.
Back-up goalkeeper Carlos Miguel is the only player absent.
Thus, we’ll see a familiar starting XI on Saturday with the likes of Nikola Milenkovic, Morgan Gibbs-White, Chris Wood, Elliot Anderson, and Neco Williams are coming back into the team. The boss used the extremities of his squad in the FA Cup fifth round.
Forest predicted lineup vs Man City (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Anderson, Dominguez; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Guardiola also rotated heavily last weekend against Plymouth, with City’s core from previous title triumphs returning to the starting XI. Those faces are starting to wane in significance, and the manager is now attempting to cultivate his next great team.
Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, and Abdukodir Khusanov should all be in the starting XI at the City Ground. Jeremy Doku has also been in impressive form and will start down the left flank.
Nathan Ake’s undergone surgery for a fractured foot and is out for the long-haul, with the defender joining Rodri, John Stones, Oscar Bobb, and Manuel Akanji on the sidelines.
Man City predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Ederson; Nunes, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland.
January signing Gonzalez holds the key here against a Forest team that has run riot on the counter-attack this season. City’s new midfielder has offered promise as a slightly watered down version of Rodri, and he’s going to have his hands full on Saturday against the speedy hosts.
Forest also have an excellent defensive record at the City Ground this season, but the visitors enter this bout refreshed and with the requisite box operator to manufacture chances out of very little. If supplied by an on-song wing tandem, Erling Haaland will score goals.
The hosts will doubtlessly trouble their visitors, but City’s wide players could wreak havoc and lead the charge towards an important win.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Man City
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