Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City: EPL Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

Manchester City, now in fourth place in the Premier League, will face third-place Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon in a matchup between the two clubs fighting for a top-four finish.

After winning the first meeting between the two teams 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium in early December, the Citizens are aiming to make it two wins in a row against the Tricky Trees.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

No Nottingham Forest fan, after their team's ordeal with avoiding relegation last season, would have predicted that their team would be in the hunt for a top-four finish this season, much alone that they would be one win away from an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley.

In the fourth and fifth rounds of the FA Cup, the Tricky Trees advanced via penalty shootouts. On Monday night, after a 1-1 draw after 120 minutes at the City Ground, they defeated Ipswich Town 5-4 in a shootout.

Forest will face Brighton and Hove Albion in the quarterfinals. Nuno Espirito Santo's team has struggled since its 7-0 Premier League victory against Brighton on February 1. In that time, they have only managed one point in their past three league matches.

After suffering consecutive defeats at the hands of Fulham (2-1) and Newcastle United (4-3), followed by a scoreless draw at home a little over a week ago, they are still in third place in the league, but the teams behind them have made significant inroads. There are now just six points separating third and tenth place as we enter the last eleven games of the season.

Forest has not won in their past nine league matches against Man City (D2 L7) since a 3-2 triumph at Maine Road in the second division in December 1997, so getting back on track on Saturday is far from certain.

Man City almost averted an embarrassing FA Cup elimination last weekend at the Etihad Stadium with a 3-1 come-from-behind victory against Plymouth Argyle. This came just three days after Man City secured a narrow 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

To keep their trophy dreams alive, Manchester City will play Bournemouth in the quarterfinals later this month, and Kevin De Bruyne scored a goal and set up two more for Nico O'Reilly before halftime.

If Pep Guardiola's team beats Forest in Saturday's early kickoff, they will end the weekend guaranteed third place in the league, but their attention will now turn back to the Premier League and their quest to qualify for the Champions League next season. The bookmakers have Pep Guardiola's squad as FA Cup favourites.

Visiting the City Ground will be Man City's sixth Premier League match starting in the top four since November began.  During that period, they have played seven games without a win, allowing 19 goals while allowing at least two goals in each of those matchups.

Man City (16 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses) has the tenth-worst Premier League point total in 2025, behind only Liverpool (22) and Arsenal (18). Additionally, no club has scored more goals in the league than City this year, tied with Liverpool (21).

On Saturday, Guardiola's squad can rest easy knowing they have a 7-0 advantage over Nottingham Forest in their past three Premier League encounters. This is the first time in league history that a team has won four consecutive matches against Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest x Manchester City Team News

Backup goalkeeper Carlos Miguel is sidelined with a hamstring injury, leaving Matz Sels to start in goal. Sels saved the game-winning penalty kick in Nottingham Forest's penalty shootout victory against Ipswich.

In place of Morato and Alex Moreno, the versatile full-back Neco Williams will join Ola Aina and Murillo in a four-man defence. At the same time, Elliot Anderson, who could start alongside Danilo, Nicolas Dominguez, or Ryan Yates, is expected to be recalled to play in the middle of the pitch.

The starting lineups for the flanks (Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi) will remain unchanged, while Morgan Gibbs-White will return to his starting position as the No. 10 behind top scorer Chris Wood. Wood has scored eight goals and assisted on three more in his last nine Premier League games, and he is the only player to score for Forest against Man City since they returned to the league in 2022.

Regarding Man City, Nathan Ake is now in the treatment room after successful surgery on a broken foot earlier this week. He joins Rodri, Manuel Akanji, John Stones, and Oscar Bobb on the injury list.

Ederson, Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Savinho, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, and Omar Marmoush are all vying for a return to Guardiola's starting lineup after he made eleven changes in the victory against Plymouth.

City are likely to start striker Erling Haaland, who has scored 20 goals in the Premier League this season—and no player has scored more goals in the competition this term than him—with 13 of those goals either putting Man City ahead (nine) or tying them (four).

Our Predictions

Manchester City to win @ 1.94 on Sky247.ng

Guardiola is pleased that Man City, especially the younger players and recruits, have had nearly a whole week off to relax and get some much-needed training in. His team will be hoping to face a rejuvenated Forest defence, which has been among the most difficult to breach in the Premier League this season.

The Citizens will be confident in their ability to score on Saturday after scoring three goals against Forest earlier in the season and eleven more in their four previous encounters.  We are taking the visitors to win by a hair and go up to third place, although Forest will be confident in their prospects of causing a net ripple with top marksman Wood.

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