Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

Date: 28/04/24

Kick-off time:

16:30 Venue: City Ground
It is a huge game at both ends of the table, with Man City fighting for Premier League glory, and Nottingham Forest battling to remain in the top flight. Pep Guardiola’s men have dropped to third following a weekend in which they were playing in the FA Cup.  Both Arsenal and Liverpool won, handing the pressure back to City to regain their lead.  A victory against Forest would do just that, and it would leave them four games away from a fourth consecutive Premier League title. Any dropped points would hand the initiative back to their rivals once more with so little left to play.

Forest are 17th, and in desperate need of three points to prevent them from falling into the bottom three.  They are only one point clear of 18th place Luton, and have not been helped by a points deduction. An unlikely win against City would give them some much needed breathing room, but defeat could see them drop into the relegation zone and into a very precarious position.

The hosts have not kept a clean sheet since the middle of February, and it is likely this streak will continue with one of the league’s most potent attacks their next opponents. In their last three league games, City have netted 13 times, and don’t look like slowing down in their relentless pursuit of the title. As expected, Erling Haaland tops the Premier League scoring charts with 20 goals, so he will be the one to look out for. If Forest are to threaten, this will most likely come from Chris Wood, who has found the back of the net 12 times this season. 

Since Forest’s promotion back to the Premier League in 2022, the two sides have met three times in the top flight.  CIty have the better record, as expected, but the one fixture at the City Ground ended in a draw last season. On that day, Bernardo Silva gave the visitors a first half lead, but this was cancelled out by Wood late on.  The reverse fixture earlier this season ended in a 2-0 victory for City, as Phil Foden and Haaland scored two early goals.

Nottingham Forest

Forest could be handed a huge boost with Taiwo Awoniyi set for a possible return after a long-term injury. They currently have no new injury concerns to contend with. 

Man CIty

Erling Haaland missed the FA Cup game against Chelsea so his availability is in question

Nottingham Forest
In their last five games, Nottingham Forest have won one, drawn two and lost two.  It has been a difficult stretch for Forest who are fighting near the bottom of the table. This stretch began with dropped points at home to Crystal Palace, as they drew 1-1. The visitors went ahead through Jean-Philippe Mateta, but this was cancelled out in the second half by Chris Wood. They secured their only win in this stretch when they beat Fulham at home in their next game.  Fulham had dominated possession, but each team had a similar number of shots. It was Forest who made the most of their opportunities, though, with Callum Hudson-Odoi, Wood and Morgan Gibbs-White getting on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win. Tosin Adarabioyo pulled one back shortly after the restart to threaten a comeback, but that was as good as it got for Fulham.

Their following game was a trip to Tottenham, in which they were on the wrong end of the same scoreline as they  lost 3-1. Wood cancelled out an own goal from Murrillo, but Micky van de Ven and Pedro Porro secured the win for Spurs in the second half.  They could not continue the winning momentum into the next game, drawing 2-2 with Wolves. Forest dominated the shot attempts, though their visitors edged possession.  Matheus Cunha put Wolves in front, but Gibbs-White equalised on the stroke of half-time.  Danilo turned it around, but Cunha completed a brace minutes later to ensure the points were shared.

Last time out was a crucial bottom of the table clash with Everton, and they fell to a 2-0 defeat. Idrissa Gueye opened the scoring before Dwight McNeil added a second.

Man City
In their last five games, Man City have won three and drawn two. The first of these was a trip to Crystal Palace in which they picked up a huge three points in the title race. In the 4-2 victory, they went behind very early to a Jean-Philippe Mateta strike, but Kevin De Bruyne answered with a stunning finish. De Bruyne scored his second to make it three after Rico Lewis put City ahead, and Erling Haaland scored the fourth. Palace scored a late consolation through Odsonne Edouard. This preceded their visit to the Bernabeu for their first leg quarter-final tie at Real Madrid. It was a thrilling contest as the two sides drew 3-3 setting up for an exciting second leg. City took the lead through an early Bernardo Silva free-kick, but the Spanish giants turned it around just 12 minutes later through a Ruben Dias own goal and Rodrygo deflected strike. Phil Foden scored a sublime goal to get his side back on level terms, before another stunning goal from Gvardiol put them in front once more. The tie went back to Manchester level after Federico Valverde added another to the catalogue of fine strikes from this game.  However, in the second leg it was Madrid who advanced to the quarter-finals with a penalty shootout win following a 1-1 draw after extra-time.  Rodrygo had put the Spaniards in front, but De Bruyne levelled to ensure another 30 minutes of play.  in the penalty shootout, Real prevailed 4-3, as Silva and Mateo Kovacic missed for the hosts.

Between these two legs was a dominant 5-1 victory over relegation battling Luton Town. It was the perfect start for the league leaders as Daiki Hashioka converted into his own net in the opening minutes. They doubled their lead in the second half through Kovacic, before Haaland converted from the spot. Ross Barkley pulled one back for the visitors, but Jeremy Doku and Gvardiol added two more to complete the rout. Their latest game was an FA Cup Semi-Final tie at Wembley against Chelsea, in which they advanced with a 1-0 win thanks to a late Silva goal. Before they take on Forest at the weekend, they travel to Brighton in the Premier League on Thursday night.

Forest are in desperate need of any points to take one step closer to safety, whilst Man City need a win to maintain their place at the top. We expect the visitors to prevail, whilst keeping a clean sheet - Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.