Manchester City will aim to finally stop the rot when they take on Nottingham Forest in the Premier League on Wednesday night.
The perennial champions always had a demise, but that doesn’t make it any less shocking when this relegation comes. After lost 2-0 against Liverpool on SundayPep Guardiola’s side are fifth in the table, winless in seven games and 11 points behind the league leaders.
This is much more than just a mistake and they have their work cut out for them if they are to avoid an eighth consecutive game without a win in midweek.
City face a Forest team that returned to victory on Saturday and just one point behind Guardiola’s side in the table. Their success this season has been built on a stern backline expertly orchestrated by maverick Murillo and summer arrival Nikola Milenkovic.
Nuno Esprito Santo’s side had lost back-to-back league games before beating Ipswich Town 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.
here it is 90 minutes guide to Wednesday’s Premier League clash.
Head-to-head record between Man City and Nottingham Forest (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Man City |
Nottingham Forest |
|---|---|
|
Liverpool 2-0 Man City – 12/01/24 |
Nottingham Forest 1-0 Ipswich Town – 30/11/24 |
|
Man City 3-3 Feyenoord – 26/11/24 |
Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest – 23/11/24 |
|
Man City 0-4 Tottenham – 23/11/24 |
Nottingham Forest 1-3 Newcastle – 24/10/11 |
|
Brighton – Man City 2-1 – 24/11/09 |
Nottingham Forest 3-0 Newcastle – 02/11/24 |
|
Sporting CP 4-1 Man City – 24/11/05 |
Leicester 1-3 Nottingham Forest – 25/10/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Amazon Prime Video |
|
united states |
peacock |
|
canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network 3 Canada |
At least there have been positives on the injury front for City, with the likes of Rubén Dias and Manuel Akanji returning from setbacks recently.
Kevin De Bruyne has been limited to cameos since his comeback, but the Belgian could be included in Guardiola’s starting eleven on Wednesday.
Jeremy Doku and Savinho are likely to return to the team, while Jack Grealish could be deployed in a more central position and work alongside De Bruyne.
John Stones and Mateo Kovacic are set to miss out again with muscle injuries, while Rodri and Oscar Bobb are long-term absentees.
Man City’s predicted line-up against Forest (3-4-2-1): Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Guardiol; Gundogan, Nunes; Savinho, De Bruyne, Grealish, Doku; Haaland.
Forest welcomed Elliott Anderson back into the starting line-up on Saturday and the summer arrival should keep his place opposite Nicolas DomÃnguez at the heart of midfield.
Chris Wood added to his impressive goal tally from the spot against Ipswich and will lead the line against a fragile City defence, but Anthony Elanga could return to the side to replace Jota Silva.
Danilo is out for the long haul with a broken leg, while Ibrahim Sangare is on the road to a comeback after being sidelined with a hamstring injury.
Expected Forest line-up against Man City (4-2-3-1): Salts; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Anderson, Yates; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; wood
You just can’t root for Manchester City right now. Guardiola isn’t going anywhere and they will struggle at some point, but will City’s renaissance begin on Wednesday? Maybe not.
Forest are a nightmare opponent for the Cityzens given their ability to defend the box and counter-attack at a ferocious pace. The hosts, just as they tried at Anfield, will aim to limit the number of transitions they have to defend simply by keeping possession and Guardiola may have to opt for boredom to secure a positive result in midweek.
Anything can happen when this City team takes the field, but don’t expect fireworks on Wednesday. A tame and tepid draw may be on the horizon.
