English Premier League action continues with a Matchday 28 fixture between high-flying Nottingham Forest and current champions, Manchester City. The match is scheduled to take place at the City Ground on the 8th of March, 2025 with both teams hoping to get something from the game.
Nottingham Forest in their third season back from the Championship have had an unbelievable start to the 2024/25 campaign. As of the time of this writing, they are fourth on the table, having accumulated 31 points from 17 games played. Nottingham Forest narrowly escaped relegation last season finishing 17th on the log, just a place above the relegation spots. They came into the new season hoping to perform better than previous campaigns and they have been up to a flying start.
In the summer, they acquired the services of center-back Nikola Milenkovic from Fiorentina, while winger Jota Silva was signed from Portuguese side Vitoria Guimaraes. Elliot Anderson, Ramon Sosa and Morato were also part of high profile names that joined Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in a bid to secure a more favorable position at the end of the season.
Remo Freuler was sold to Italian side Bologna, while Orel Mangala moved to Olympique Lyonnais after spending the previous season on loan at the French club. Other departures included Joe Worrall who moved to Burnley, Moussa Niakhate and Scott McKenna who joined Lyon and Las Palmas of Spain respectively.
The Tricky Trees have won nine times, drawn four times and lost four games in the league so far this season. Their most recent league outing was a 2-0 win over Brentford away from home. Their campaign started with a 1-1 draw against Bournemouth, before picking up three points in an away win over Southampton courtesy of a strike from Morgan Gibbs-White.
However, they lost for the first time on matchday six when they got beaten 1-0 at home to Fulham. It is also noteworthy that they defeated league leaders Liverpool at Anfield in what was a memorable victory. They were eliminated at the first stop of the EFL cup on penalties by Newcastle United after a 1-1 draw in regulation time.
Manchester City on the other hand, under Spanish Coach Pep Guardiola, won the Premier League for a fourth successive season in the 2023/24 season. Still, they are hoping to win a fifth straight title in the 2024/25 season. Unfortunately for them, they have had a less than ideal start to the league season, breaking unwanted records.
In the summer, their major acquisitions were Brazilian winger Savinho who joined from City-owned club Troyes and Ilkay Gundogan, who returned to the club having spent last season at Barcelona. Argentine forward Julian Alvarez left the club to join Atletico Madrid after playing second fiddle to Erling Haaland for majority of his stay in England, while Joao Cancelo finally left on a permanent basis after a series of loan spells away from the club. Kalvin Phillips also moved to newly-promoted Ipswich Town on loan till the end of the season.
As of the time of writing, they are fifth in the English Premier League and are nine points off the top of the table. They have just one win in their last eleven fixtures in what is a dismal run. They have lost eight times, drawn twice and won just a single match in this period.
Their season has been majorly hampered by injuries to key players with the likes of Ballon d’Or winner, Rodri, Oscar Bobb, John Stones, Nathan Ake, Manuel Akanji and many more all injured at different points of the campaign. They were recently beaten 2-1 at the Etihad in the Manchester derby, conceding two late goals from Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo.
In the EFL cup, they were eliminated by Tottenham Hotspur in a game that exposed their weaknesses. Manchester City prepare to face lower-league side Salford city in the third round of the FA cup on the 11th of January.
In the UEFA Champions League, they are on the brink of a shock elimination as they are currently 22nd in the 36-team standings. They have eight points from six games played and have not won any of their last three matches in the competition. Their most recent outing was a 2-0 loss at Juventus on matchday six piling pressure on boss Pep Guardiola to turn things around.
Recent meetings between both sides have favored the Cityzens, as they have won four of the past five matches with one game ending in a stalemate. The first meeting between both sides earlier in the season resulted in a 3-0 win for the Champions at the Etihad on Matchday 14.
Match tickets
The exciting match at the City ground is scheduled to hold on the 8th of March, 2025.
The magnificent 30,455-capacity stadium which is the home of Nottingham Forest with its electrifying atmosphere will be ready to host this fixture.
Getting Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels.
Team News
As of the time of this writing, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are without Danilo, who is suffering from an ankle injury and Ibrahim Sangare who has hamstring injury.
The front three of Callum Hudson-Odoi, Morgan Gibbs-White and Chris Wood will hope to continue the form that has propelled them to fourth on the log.
Predicted Lineup:
Nottingham Forest: Sels(GK), Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams, Yates, Anderson, Jota, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood.
Pep Guardiola’s side are still without Rodri who is out until 2025 with an anterior cruciate ligament injury while Oscar Bobb is also out with a leg injury. Nathan Ake has also missed recent games and might be out of this encounter.
Predicted Lineup:
Manchester City: Ederson(GK), Lewis, Dias, Akanji, Gvardiol; De Bruyne, Kovacic, Silva, Foden, Gundogan, Haaland.
Prediction
Manchester City have dominated this fixture in recent times while Nottingham Forest have struggled to get a foothold in this fixture. Pep Guardiola’s side should be able to get a victory in this encounter as they have more than enough quality in their ranks to do so. Get your Nottingham Forest tickets on time.
Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City