Manchester City will look to close the gap with the league leaders Arsenal when they travel to Nottingham Forest for their next Premier League game on Sunday.
They are currently one point adrift of the league leaders with a game in hand. A win here would send them to the top of the league table.
Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest are 17th in the standings, just one point above the drop zone. They could easily be dragged into the bottom three if they continue to falter. They are winless in five of the six league matches and they will be desperate to bounce back strongly. Manchester City are a formidable squad and it remains to be seen whether the home team can upset the odds with a favourable result.
Nottingham Forest will be desperate for survival and they need to win the remaining games in order to stand a chance.
Team news & Tactics
Nottingham Forest
Nuno Tavares will miss out with a thigh injury, Willy Boly has a muscle injury and Taiwo Awoniyi misses out with an undisclosed injury. The visitors will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation with Matz Sels in goal.
Neco Williams and Ola Aina will be deployed as the full-backs. They will look to keep things compact at the back and help out during transitions. In central defence, Andrew Omobamidele will start alongside Murillo.
In the midfield unit, Ryan Yates will start alongside Danilo in the pivot and the two players will look to protect the defence and break up opposition attacks.
Morgan Gibbs-White will start as the central attacking midfielder and he will look to link the midfield to the attack and create goalscoring opportunities for his team.
Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson Odoi will start in the wide areas and they will look to hit Manchester City on the counter.
Chris Wood will lead the line for Nottingham Forest.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Sels; Williams, Omobamidele, Murillo, Aina; Danilo, Yates; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Manchester City
Erling Haaland remains a doubt for the game with a minor injury. Apart from that, Manchester City have a fully fit squad to choose from. They are likely to shape up in a 3-4-2-1 formation, with Ederson Moraes in goal.
In the back three, Kyle Walker will start alongside Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol.
Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish will start in the wide areas, and they will look to contribute at both ends of the pitch. Rodri will start in the central midfield alongside Manuel Akanji. Rodri will look to control the game from the deep and Akanji will look to break up opposition attacks.
Bernardo Silva and Kevin De Bruyne will start as the attacking midfielders, and they will look to carve open the home defence with their creativity and vision.
Julian Alvarez will lead the line for Manchester City here.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Gvardiol; Doku, Rodri, Akanji, Grealish; Silva, De Bruyne; Alvarez
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in three of the last six matches against Manchester City.
- Manchester City have won 13 of their last 16 matches (Premier League).
- Manchester City have scored at least 4 goals in their last 4 matches (Premier League).
- Manchester City have won three of the last six matches against Nottingham Forest.
- Nottingham Forest have conceded 10 goals in the last six matches.
Key Player
Kevin De Bruyne
The Manchester City midfielder is our key player to watch out for this weekend. He scored an outstanding headed goal in the last game, and he will look to add to his goalscoring tally here as well. In addition to that, he is the main creator for the defending champions, and he will look to carve out opportunities for his teammates with his vision and passing ability.
Nottingham Forest have been quite vulnerable defensively, and the Belgian midfielder could punish them.
Prediction
Nottingham Forest 1-3 Manchester City
The home team will look to put up a fight here, but Manchester City are far superior and they have the confidence and momentum with them. They are coming into this game on the back of four consecutive victories in the league, and they will be hoping to pick up a comprehensive win here.
The home team will look to make life difficult for the opposition, but the gulf in class between the two teams should see Manchester City pick up a comfortable victory.
