The defending champions Manchester City welcome Nottingham Forest to the Etihad Stadium on Saturday afternoon as they look to keep their perfect start in the Premier League.
The visitors are now ranked eighth in the table after earning seven points in their last four Premier League games, while the hosts are comfortably atop the standings.
Match preview
After seeing their team win five straight Premier League games, including last weekend’s 3-1 victory away at West Ham United thanks to goals from summer signings Jeremy Doku, Bernardo Silva, and Erling Haaland, Manchester City supporters are understandably in a good mood.
When Pep Guardiola’s team started the defense of their Champions League title at home against Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night, they were given the same task as when they had to come from behind at halftime to win all three points in the capital. They eventually prevailed by a score of 3-1 in their opening Group G match.
Osman Bukari surprisingly put Red Star in front with their first shot on target on the stroke of half time, but a dominant Citizens outfit, who in contrast had 37 shots and 76% possession throughout the 90 minutes, turned the game on its head after the break thanks to a brace from Julian Alvarez and a composed finish from last season’s Champions League final hero Rodri to help City extend their club record of successive home wins to 19 in all competitions.
City’s recent success has been greatly influenced by their home-field advantage. They have a 27-game unbeaten home run in the Champions League, which is the third-longest streak in the history of the tournament, and they have also won all 12 of their home Premier League games in 2023, winning by a combined score of 35 goals.
When Man City takes on Nottingham Forest on Saturday, they will be confident that they can pick up another three points and make history by becoming the second reigning Premier League champion, after Chelsea in 2005-06, to win his first six games in the top division. Nottingham Forest has lost all three of their home games against Man City, including last season’s resounding 6-0 victory in August 2022.
Nearly three weeks on from losing 1-0 at home to Burnley in the EFL Cup second round, Nottingham Forest were on course to suffer the same defeat heading into the final half-hour of their Premier League clash with the Clarets on Monday.
However, debutant Callum Hudson-Odoi announced himself to the City Ground faithful with a stunning second-half strike from outside the area to rescue a 1-1 draw for Steve Cooper‘s side, in a game that Burnley were controversially denied a late winner by VAR because of a dubious handball.
Considering Forest have already faced Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea away from home this season, Cooper will be reasonably pleased to have seen his side accumulate seven points from their first five Premier League games, but another tricky away trip is on the horizon at the home of the reigning champions.
Forest’s slender 1-0 victory at Chelsea in their last match on the road – one of just two away league wins in 14 games since the turn of the year – will breed confidence within Cooper’s squad heading to the Etihad, but they enter Saturday’s fixture having failed to win any of their last six league meetings with Man City.
The only time Forest have celebrated success at the Etihad was as a Championship club back in January 2009 when they stunned the Citizens with a 3-0 FA Cup win under former caretaker boss John Pemberton.
Team News
Man City’s Bernardo Silva is ruled out for up to two weeks with an unspecified leg injury picked up in the win over Red Star, and the playmaker will join Kevin De Bruyne (hamstring) and John Stones (muscle) in the treatment room.
Mateo Kovacic has missed the last two games with a muscle problem in his back, and Saturday’s game may come too soon for the midfielder, but Guardiola has revealed that Jack Grealish could feature against Forest after taking part in training this week following a spell out with a knee issue.
The absence of Bernardo will likely see Doku recalled to the first XI to start on the opposite flank to Phil Foden, while Josko Gvardiol and Manuel Akanji will both be pushing to start in defence and could replace Nathan Ake and Sergio Gomez.
Alvarez scored his first two Premier League goals for Man City in last season’s 6-0 home win over Forest, and the Argentine is expected to continue in attack alongside Haaland, who netted a hat-trick against the Tricky Trees in the same fixture.
As for Forest, Harry Toffolo (FA suspension) is unavailable for selection and Brazilian midfielder Danilo is ruled out for “a few weeks” with a hamstring injury, while Felipe, Wayne Hennessey (both knee) and Serge Aurier (unspecified) are all injury doubts; Willy Boly (illness) will also be assessed ahead of kickoff.
Ola Aina may start at right-back or right wing-back depending on whether Cooper uses a back four or five-man defense to replace Gonzalo Montiel, who was worn out by Burnley’s Luca Koleosho and withdrawn shortly after halftime on his Forest debut. Nuno Tavares, an Arsenal loanee, may get his first start on the left side of defense.
expensive summer signingWhile Hudson-Odoi, Morgan Gibbs-White, and former Manchester United player Anthony Elanga will all be looking to retain their places in the final third alongside striker Taiwo Awoniyi, Ibrahim Sangare and Orel Mangala may link up once more in the middle of the pitch.
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Nunes; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Turner; Boly, Worrall, McKenna; Aina, Sangare, Mangala, Tavares; Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Awoniyi
We say: Manchester City 3-1 Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest have already caused plenty of problems on their travels to Arsenal, Man United and Chelsea this term, albeit the latter two teams are not at their best at present, and another positive display is required if they are to cause an upset on Saturday.
Man City have conceded in each of their last four games which will be a slight cause for concern for Guardiola, but given the abundance of attacking quality at the Citizens’ disposal, they should have few problems breaching Forest’s backline en route to another home victory.
When Nottingham Forest travels to the Etihad to take on the reigning champions Manchester City tomorrow afternoon, they run the risk of pulling off a major upset.
The Pep Guardiola team has kept up its unrelenting form, winning all five of their Premier League games so far this season while only giving up three goals.
Steve Cooper’s team, meanwhile, is currently eighth after a strong 2023–24 season.
Last time out, Callum Hudson-Odoi’s outstanding goal against Burnley earned Cooper’s team a crucial point for the Reds.
Due to injuries, Manchester City’s team is a little undermanned.After witnessing Jeremy Doku play against West Ham and Red Star Belgrade in the previous week, I like the way he looks. He will surely play a part this weekend.
Erling Haaland squandered numerous opportunities in both games, and as a result, he will likely score eight goals on Saturday.
Julian Alvarez’s performance behind him has really impressed me; he plays with such intelligence that it is difficult to keep him quiet.
Despite winning at Stamford Bridge prior to the international break and giving Arsenal and Manchester United a good game last month, Nottingham Forest was basically terrible away from home last season.
However, I don’t see them benefiting in any way from this. The previous time Forest visited Etihad Stadium, Haaland scored a hat-trick in the first half. Although I do not anticipate City to play as aggressively this time, it should be business as usual for them.
