Man City vs Nottingham Forest Preview: Team News & Prediction
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Manchester City and Pep Guardiola are enduring more than a wobble and are in a run of form that is unprecedented in the Pep era at City with his old adversary Nuno Espirito Santo now taking his high flying Nottingham Forest side to the City Ground.
Kick-off date/time: Wednesday 4th December, 2024: UK – 7:30pm / US ET – 2:30pm / US PT – 11:30am
How to watch on TV: UK – Not televised / US – Not televised
How to watch online: UK – Amazon Prime / US – Peacock
Man City Preview: City’s implosion
Pep Guardiola reminded Liverpool supporters that he has won six titles in charge of Manchester City as they serenaded him with ‘sacked in the morning’ as Manchester City suffered a 2-0 loss to Liverpool which really flattered the Cityzens and the manager’s actions did seem to be a sign that he is now really feeling the pressure this season.
That defeat means they have now gone winless in their last seven matches across all competitions with six defeats and a draw but that draw was arguably the most worrying result as they gave away a three-goal lead late on at home to Feyenoord in the UEFA Champions League last week.
Nottingham Forest Preview: Forest on the push
Nuno Espirito Santo has defeated Pep’s Manchester City a few times with both Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur with the former Al Ittihad boss now looking upwards with Nottingham Forest as they seemingly challenge for a potential top seven or eight finish and UEFA competition qualification.
Forest had recently suffered back-to-back defeats either side of the November international break against Newcastle United and Arsenal but bounced back at the City Ground at the weekend as they defeated Ipswich Town by a goal to nil thanks to a second-half winner from the spot scored by in-form New Zealand international Chris Wood.
Man City Team News: Ederson’s dropping
Stefan Ortega was a little jittery at the weekend but the German did replace Ederson in the starting eleven with that seemingly now being the direction that Pep Guardiola will go in.
They have been dealing with the massive blow of Rodri in midfield but other players who could fit in that role, such as John Stones and Mateo Kovacic, are also unavailable, too. It would be no surprise to see the likes of Doku and potentially De Bruyne and Grealish be handed starts.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Ortega; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Ake; Lewis, Gundogan; Bernardo Silva, Foden, Doku; Haaland
Unavailable: Rodri (Injured, Kovacic (Injured), Bobb (Injured), Stones (Injured)
Questionable:
Nottingham Forest Team News: Set up perfectly to counter
With Anthony Elanga still unlikely to be considered fit enough to start, Jota Silva is likely to start in an attacking quartet that is perfect for counter-attacking football alongside Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Chris Wood.
Forest have adapted and tweaked their side per opponent well this season but they do still have a couple of midfield injuries with the absences of both Danilo and Ibrahim Sangare.
Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Dominguez; Jota Silva, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Unavailable: Danilo (Injured), Sangare (Injured)
Questionable:
Man City vs Nottingham Forest Prediction
Manchester City lack defensive cohesion, attacking fluidity, that classic magical spark and, most importantly, confidence. Things appear tired with the fundamentals that made them so good for so long now seemingly a long way away. Nottingham Forest will be organised defensively and have those key men on the counter-attack to try and hurt a fragile City defence so there really could be good value in siding with the visitors at the Etihad Stadium.
Man City vs Nottingham Forest Tip: Double chance – Nottingham Forest to win or draw
