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

This Tuesday night, Manchester United, who have yet to win back-to-back league games this season, will face Champions League contenders Nottingham Forest in what promises to be an exciting Premier League matchup at the City Ground. With a six-point lead over fifth-place Manchester City, Forest occupy third place in the Premier League, while Man United are in 13th place, a staggering 17 points behind their opponents in this match.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Few would have predicted that Forest, who just avoided relegation last season after finishing 17th in the Premier League, would be sitting pretty in third place halfway through the season.

With an impressive record of 16 victories, 6 draws, and 7 losses from 29 matches, the Reds have amassed 54 points. They are now in third position, six points clear of fifth-place Manchester City in the race for a spot in the Champions League.

Even though Nuno Espirito Santo's Forest has won two European Cups and might host elite European action at the City Ground next season, they still have a long way to go until the end of the season.

On March 15, the Reds defeated Ipswich Town 4-2 in their most recent league match. On Saturday afternoon, they advanced to the FA Cup semi-finals with a penalty shootout victory against Brighton & Hove Albion.

After a 3-2 victory over Manchester United at Old Trafford in December, Forest will aim to earn their first league double over United since the 1991–92 season under the leadership of a certain Brian Clough.

On Tuesday night, Man United faced a formidable opponent on Nuno's side, who had won six of their previous eight Premier League home games. This run includes draws against Liverpool and Arsenal, the league's top two teams.

With a 3-0 victory against Leicester City under their belts going into the March international break, Man Utd are desperately trying to win consecutive Premier League matches for the first time this season.

The Red Devils advanced to the quarterfinals of the Europa League after thrashing Real Sociedad 4-1 in the return match at Old Trafford on March 13. Ruben Amorim's squad will now face Lyon.

Although Manchester United will not be able to qualify for the Champions League this season via the Premier League, they would secure a spot at the top table for the 2025-26 campaign if they were to win the Europa League.

Nobody can deny that the 20-time English champions have had a terrible season. However, their previous two games should have given fans reason to be optimistic, and they haven't lost a regular season match since mid-February against Tottenham Hotspur.

Although Manchester United is now focused on the Europa League, Amorim's 13th-placed team should be well-prepared to take advantage of the lengthy break before this matchup.

Despite a 1-0 FA Cup victory in 2023–24, United have lost their past two Premier League meetings against Forest, including last season's 2-1 loss at the City Ground.

Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester United Team News

According to head coach Nuno, who announced Saturday's match, Chris Wood is questionable to play in Tuesday's match for Forest. Wood hurt his hip when playing for New Zealand during the international break.

Morgan Gibbs-White must be evaluated after a severe collision with the goalpost against Brighton. The Englishman will be able to recuperate in time to face the 20-time English champions.

In Wood's absence, ex-Red Devils striker Anthony Elanga might start in the center, with Jota Silva distributing the ball outside.

Callum Hudson-Odoi is expected to start on the left wing, while Nikola Milenkovic, a tall central defender, will also begin for the starting lineup.

Luke Shaw, Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Altay Bayindir, and Tom Heaton are five Man Utd players who returned to training after injuries at the end of last week.

Along with Patrick Dorgu, who has completed his domestic sentence, the team will include Ayden Heaven, Lisandro Martinez, Jonny Evans, Kobbie Mainoo, Amad Diallo, and Kobbie Martinez.

After breaking their goal-scoring droughts against Leicester, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund are both set to start for Amorim, who has tough choices to make throughout the field. Joshua Zirkzee might be recalled to play in the final third.

Dorgu is expected to start on the left wing after a superb performance in the club's previous Europa League match against Real Sociedad. Maguire and Yoro might be brought on as replacements for the current back three.

Our predictions

Full-time draw @ 3.45 on Sky247.ng

While Forest will be heavy favorites playing at home, Man United will be the more rested squad, which should make for an exciting matchup on Tuesday night. Goals are likely to be scored.

We sense that this match will end in an exciting 2-2 tie; however, a home or away win would not be shocking.

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