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Nottingham Forest vs Man City preview
With his team hoping to take the lead in the standings Premier League On Saturday, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is closely monitoring any over-indulgence from his players.
“Imagine if a player arrives three kilos heavier,” said the demanding Spaniard. “He will stay in Manchester – he will not travel to Nottingham.”
Guardiola prepares to face Sean Dyche for the first time since the Englishman became Forest head coach in October.
“We clashed many times,” he said. “It’s nice to see him and I’m happy he’s at a big club like [Forest].”
While City will usurp Arsenal at the top if they win at the City Ground and stay there if the Gunners drop points at home to Brighton & Hove Albion later today, Forest are eyeing mid-table and an increase in their five-point gap to the relegation zone.
Dyche’s side lost 1-0 at Fulham on Monday, but have won three of their previous four matches in all competitions, including a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham in their last home game on December 14.
“I don’t mind if they have a Christmas dinner – why not?” » asked Dyche, pointing to his head while discussing his team.
“Sometimes psychology is as important as anything with athletes. “Within reason, I want them to enjoy their Christmas Day. Certainly, it’s a big part of their life.
Team News Nottingham Forest vs Man City
Nottingham Forest centre-back Willy Boly and midfielder Ibrahim Sangaré are taking part in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations with Ivory Coast.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels returned from a groin problem on the bench in the defeat at Craven Cottage, as did midfielder Nicolas Dominguez following a knee problem.
Midfielder Ryan Yates (hamstring), full-back Ola Aina and striker Chris Wood (both knees) are out.
City player Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria) and striker Omar Marmoush are present at the CAN, but defender John Stones could be in contention following a hamstring injury.
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic suffers from a long-term ankle injury. Winger Jeremy Doku (leg) and midfielders Oscar Bobb and Rodri (both hamstring) could return in early 2026.
Expected Nottingham Forest vs Man City line-ups
Nottingham Forest starting XI: John Victor, Nicolo Savona, Nicola Milelello, Murillo Williams, Omari Hutchinson, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Douglas Luiz, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus
Manchester City starting lineup: Gianluigi Donnnarumma, Matheus Nuns, Dias Rebel, GVardiol, Nico, Bernard Silva, Nico Gonzalez, Rayan Cherry, Reinders, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland
How to watch Forest v Man City: TV channel, live stream online
Kick-off on Saturday will be at 12:30 GMT (07:30 ET / 04:30 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is provided on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and the Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 per month via discovery+which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a huge range of devices including smart TVs and games consoles.
Nottingham Forest vs Man City Stats
- After beating City 1-0 in March, Forest are aiming for back-to-back league wins for the first time since September 1995.
- Forest have taken 11 points from their last 12 home matches (W3 D2 L7), with only West Ham (9) and Wolves (8) having gained fewer among teams who were also in the Premier League last season.
- They have won their last four Premier League matches played between Christmas and New Year, all under the management of Nuno Espírito Santo in 2023 and 2024.
- The most recent of these came on December 29 last year against Dyche’s Everton.
- Dyche has lost 14 and drawn two of his meetings with Guardiola. Only Steve Bruce vs Alex Ferguson (17) has managed more games against a manager without a single Premier League win
- City failed to score in half of their Premier League away matches against Nottingham Forest (3 out of 6), but avoided defeat by scoring (W2 D1).
- The Cityzens are unbeaten in 10 Premier League matches between Christmas and New Year (8 wins, 2 draws) since their 3-2 defeat against Wolves on December 27, 2019.
- They have won each of their last three league games 3-0, most recently posting consecutive wins without conceding a goal in February 2021 (6).
- No team in the history of the English top flight has ever won four in a row by at least three goals to nil.
- Erling Haaland has five goals in six Premier League matches against Nottingham Forest, although 60% of those came in the Norwegian talisman’s first game against them in August 2022, when he scored a hat-trick from four attempts.
- The division’s top scorer has scored two goals from 10 shots in his last five games against Forest.
- He has 19 goals in 17 Premier League games for Manchester City this season. The only player in the history of the competition to have scored 20 before the end of the year during a campaign is Haaland himself (21 in 2022/23).
