Man City vs Nottingham Forest: Match Preview & predictions
Man City vs Nottingham Forest: Match Preview & predictions. Manchester City will be more than desperate to finally stop the rot when they take on Nottingham Forest in a Premier League clash on Wednesday night.
The defending champions were always due a demise but that doesn’t make it any less shocking when such a decline arrives. After losing 2-0 to Liverpool last time out, Pep Guardiola and his side find themselves fifth in the league table, winless in seven games and 11 points adrift of the league leaders.
This is far more than a mere blip and they have their work cut out if they’re to avoid going eighth straight games without a win in midweek.
The Cityzens face a Forest team that returned to winning ways on Saturday and just a point adrift of Guardiola’s side in the table. Their success this season has been built off a stern backline marshalled expertly by maverick Murillo and summer arrival Nikola Milenkovic.
Nuno Esprito Santo’s side had lost back-to-back league games before they edged past Ipswich Town 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
Take a look at how we preview Wednesday’s Premier League clash at the Etihad.
What time does Man City vs Nottingham Forest kick-off?
Location: Manchester, England
Stadium: Etihad Stadium
Date: Wednesday 4 December
Kick-off Time: 19:30 GMT / 14:30 ET / 11:30 PT
Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: Peter Bankes
Man City vs Nottingham Forest H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Man City: 3 wins
Nottingham Forest: 1 wins
Draws: 1
Last meeting: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City (28 April 2024) – Premier League
Man City team news:
There have at least been positives on the injury list for City, with the likes of Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji recently returning from setback.
Kevin De Bruyne has been limited to cameo appearances since making his comeback, but the Belgian could be included in Guardiola’s starting XI on Wednesday.
Jeremy Doku and Savinho are likely to come back into the team, while Jack Grealish could be deployed in a more central position and work in tandem with De Bruyne.
John Stones and Mateo Kovacic are both poised to miss out again due to muscle injuries, while Rodri and Oscar Bobb are still long-term absentees.
Man City predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest
Man City (3-4-2-1): Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Gundogan, Nunes; Savinho, De Bruyne, Grealish, Doku; Haaland.
Nottingham Forest team news:
Forest welcomed Elliott Anderson back into the starting XI on Saturday and the summer arrival should keep his place over Nicolas Dominguez in the midfield pivot.
Chris Wood added to his impressive goal tally from the spot against Ipswich and will lead the line against a frail City defence, but Anthony Elanga could come back into the side and replace Jota Silva.
Danilo is out for the long haul with a broken leg, while Ibrahim Sangare is on the comeback trail having been out of action with a hamstring injury.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs Man City
Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Anderson, Yates; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood.
Man City vs Nottingham Forest score prediction:
Of course, you simply can not back Manchester City at the moment. But Guardiola isn’t going anywhere and they will sure fight back at some point, but will City’s renaissance begin on Wednesday? Well, that’s left for us to find out.
Forest are a nightmare of an opponent for the Cityzens given their ability to defend the box and counter-attack at ferocious pace. The hosts, as they tried at Anfield, will aim to limit the number of transitions they have to defend by merely keeping the ball and Guardiola may have to opt for boredom to secure a positive result in midweek.
Anything could happen when this City team take to the field, but fireworks shouldn’t be expected on Wednesday. Still, a City win shouldn’t be discarded regardless.
Prediction: Man City 3-1 Nottingham Forest
