Preview: Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City - prediction, team news, lineups

Things are beginning to get tasty at the top of the Premier League table, with Manchester City hoping to leapfrog current leaders Arsenal with a victory over Nottingham Forest in Saturday’s early game.

Pep Guardiola’s men are putting serious pressure on the Gunners, though maintaining their current winning run may prove easier said than done as Forest look to end a 30-year streak against the Citizens at the City Ground.

Match preview

Let us start with the hosts. Nottingham Forest head into Saturday’s game having won six of their previous nine games across all competitions, including a sensational 3-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago.

However, Sean Dyche and his men failed to capitalise on that result as the Tricky Trees delivered a lacklustre performance in their 1-0 defeat away at Fulham – a result which keeps Forest just one spot above the bottom three.

Nottingham will be leaning on their home form in this game, with the team managing four wins from their previous six games at the City Ground – a run which includes just one home loss since Dyche’s arrival.

On top of that, Forest fans will certainly remember City’s last visit to the ground, which ended in a historic 1-0 victory for the Tricky Trees – their first league success over the Citizens since 1995.

Nottingham now have an opportunity to win back-to-back league games against Man City for the first time in 30 years. If that was not enough motivation, victory would move Dyche and his men eight points clear of the bottom three ahead of the three o’clock matches.

Manchester City made headlines this week after Guardiola vowed to weigh his players ahead of their trip to Nottingham, threatening to leave people out of the squad should they come back with excess Christmas mass.

The comments proved that Guardiola is not leaving anything to chance in this title race, though his confidence will have grown over December after overseeing a seven-match winning run across all competitions.

City have been particularly ruthless in recent weeks, winning their last three Premier League games by a 3-0 scoreline. Should they continue on that trajectory, the Citizens could become the first club in English top flight history to win four consecutive matches by three goals or more and keep a clean sheet in each encounter.

Guardiola’s men have conceded just one goal in five games, which came in a 2-1 victory away against Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier this month.

City’s tremendous winning run – including their five straight wins in the league – leaves them within two points of Prem leaders Arsenal, meaning a win in Nottingham would take them top of the standings, at least until the Gunners play Brighton & Hove Albion at three o’clock.

The Citizens have made it a habit of overtaking Arsenal in the second half of the Premier League campaign, and they could unleash some bad memories on their London rivals should they end the calendar year on top.

Nottingham Forest Premier League form:

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Nottingham Forest form (all competitions):

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Manchester City Premier League form:

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Team News

Nottingham Forest welcomed Nicolas Dominguez, Matz Sels and Taiwo Awoniyi back into the squad for the defeat at Craven Cottage.

Saturday’s game comes too soon for striker Chris Wood, who continues to train individually following his knee injury.

Ola Aina is also getting closer to making his return, currently training with the first team but still lacking the necessary match fitness.

Ryan Yates and Dan Ndoye are both being assessed, while Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly are both on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Man City also have a couple of players out in Morocco, with Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush representing their respective national sides.

Jeremy Doku is a big doubt for Saturday, with Guardiola suggesting the player may return for the clash against Sunderland in early January. John Stones and Oscar Bobb are expected to join him on the sidelines.

Rodri continues to make his recovery from a hamstring injury, though there is no confirmation whether the Spaniard will feature. Mateo Kovacic, on the other hand, is expected to miss another three months of action.

Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:

John Victor; Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Savona; Douglas Luiz, Anderson; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson; Igor Jesus

Manchester City possible starting lineup:

Donnarumma; O’Reilly, Gvardiol, Dias, Nunes; Reijnders, Nico, Silva; Foden, Cherki; Haaland

We say: Nottingham Forest 1-3 Manchester City

Man City are enjoying a sensational run of form, and they are unlikely to be stopped by an inconsistent Nottingham Forest side.

The Citizens lost on their previous trip to the City Ground, but with their sights firmly set on the Premier League crown, they will be determined to set the record straight. With that in mind, we are backing a big win for the visitors.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.