Nottingham Forest will welcome Manchester City to the City Ground as we enter the final moments of the 2023/24 Premier League season. The hosts have had it rough in recent times but it seems the mood is changing gradually, while the Citizens have been ever-competitive this season, challenging for titles on several fronts since the season got underway.
Like last term, Forest started the season quite slowly as they lost two of their opening three games of the season, although they faced Arsenal and Manchester United throughout that period while beating Sheffield United at home for their first points of the season. A win at Stamford Bridge over Chelsea secured their second win before a 1-1 draw with Burnley at home then the poor form got elongated as they went five games without a win. However, a comprehensive 2-0 win raised the hopes of the fans but the barren form returned almost immediately. The Reds went seven games without a win and Steve Cooper was sacked as manager.
In came former Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo and he has been able to help the team win two of his opening three games with the wins coming against Newcastle United and Manchester United. It was a relief to end 2023 in such a good mood and with 2024 now here, the team will be focused on beating the drop and garnering the necessary points to keep them in the Premier League. The Reds beat Newcastle away from home and did beat West Ham at their ground as well. Well, there is belief as we head into the final months of the season and they might just beat the drop come the end of the season.
Last summer, Manchester City said goodbye to several stars as part of their rebuild following a successful 2023. Riyad Mahrez left for Al Ahli, Aymeric Laporte for Al Nassr, Ilkay Gundogan and Joao Cancelo to Barcelona, and Benjamin Mendy for Lorient. Around the same time, youngster Cole Palmer went to Chelsea in a big money move.
Pep Guardiola went into the transfer market and got the following; defender Josko Gvardiol was signed from RB Leipzig, Matheus Nunes from Wolverhampton Wanderers, Jeremy Doku from Stade Rennes, and Mateo Kovacic from Chelsea. These signings have not particularly been superb, but City have been quite competitive this term and are in the run-in for the Premier League title.
On the pitch, the Citizens started the season by beating Burnley in the first game of the season thanks to goals from Haaland and Rodri. Afterward, they won their next five games against Newcastle, Sheffield United, Fulham, West Ham, and Nottingham Forest. However, their run was halted by Wolverhampton Wanderers. As usual, the champions dipped in form, suffering losses to Arsenal and Aston Villa and drawing against Liverpool, Chelsea, and Tottenham in their last seven games just before December. Guardiola’s team then built gradually on either side of a Club World Cup win to close the gap at the top of the Premier League log. At the turn of the year and as of the time of writing, the Citizens only dropped points to Chelsea at home. In past seasons, Manchester City always finished the season strongly and nothing short of that is expected here.
On the balance of things, it is expected to be an exciting match between two sides who play contrasting styles of football in the Premier League.
Match tickets
The epic match at City Ground in Nottingham kicks off on Saturday 27th April 2024, at 3 PM UK time.
United’s 30,404-capacity stadium will be the venue for this clash between two teams with a different focus for the remainder of the season.
Getting tickets for the Nottingham Forest v 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
Line-ups
Forest do have a long list of players available and fit for selection. Most of the players injured or that have spent significant time in the physio’s room this campaign, have found their way back. As of the time of writing, only Chris Wood remains out of the squad and should be back before the Reds host the Champions. Striker Taiwo Awoniyi was greatly missed in the latter part of 2023 but he is back to lead them to safety with his goals.
Nottingham Forest XI: Sels; Williams, Felipe, Murillo, Nuno Tavares; Dominguez, Danilo; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Awoniyi
Just like the Reds, Manchester City do not have any major injury concerns since Kevin de Bruyne returned to the side after his long layoff. It is expected that everyone will play their part in this match including midfielder Rodrigo – who continues to make an impact in his defensive role – and remains an important player for Pep Guardiola’s side.
Manchester City XI: Ederson; Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, Kyle Walker, John Stones, Rodrigo, Julian Alvarez, De Bruyne, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland, Phil Foden.
Prediction
The Reds know the focus is just to remain in the Premier League, so picking points against an opposition like Manchester City at this ground will be widely celebrated. Awoniyi can be relied upon for goals and they can also count on their fans to get them over the line.
As for Manchester City, they are in the run-in for the Premier League title. With that in mind, they cannot afford to drop points here and that will make this clash a tough contest.
Based on the above, it should be a cracker but Manchester City’s quality and desire should get them all three points.
Nottingham Forest 1-3 Manchester City