Nottingham Forest vs Man City: Prediction, expected line ups, how to watch and stats
Nottingham Forest kick off the Premier League weekend with a tasty home game against Manchester City as both teams look to bolster their top four ambitions.
Third-placed Forest against fourth-placed City. That wouldn’t sound out of place if we were three weeks into the season and the table hadn’t taken shape yet. But considering we’re seven months deep into the campaign, it’s hard to believe how things have played out.
Few would have expected Forest to have such an impressive season. But even fewer still would have expected City to suffer such a shocking dip after dominating the league for the last four years.
With title ambitions long gone, Pep Guardiola’s men are simply looking to limit the damage and bag a top-four finish.
Trouble is, the battle for the top four is becoming evermore congested due to everyone’s lack of consistency. The likes of Chelsea, Newcastle, Bournemouth and Aston Villa have all experienced recent dips in results, with Forest and City not exempt from that list.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have won just one of their last five Premier League matches, drawing 0-0 with Arsenal last time out, while City have lost two of their last four in the competition. In their defence, those defeats came against the current top two in Liverpool and Arsenal.
Forest have lost four of their last five against City – including a 3-0 defeat last December. In fact, the Tricky Trees haven’t beaten the Citizens in a league game this century, with their last such victory coming all the way back in 1997.
But Forest are unbeaten in nine home matches across all competitions – a run which includes high-calibre opponents like Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Aston Villa.
Here, we take a closer look at Saturday’s encounter including team news, predicted line ups and where to watch.
Nottingham Forest team news
Nottingham Forest head into Saturday’s game with a near-fully fit squad at their disposal.
Carlos Miguel, who is yet to make a Premier League appearance this season, is the only absentee following a hamstring issue. The goalkeeper is currently being assessed.
Forest made a number of changes to their squad for the FA Cup clash with Ipswich on Monday. Expect the Tricky Trees to line-up in the same way they did for the goalless draw with Arsenal.
Nottingham Forest predicted line up
Man City team news
Manchester City’s injury problems have been well documented this season. Well actually, it’s the absence of one particular man which appears to have done the most damage.
Ballon d’Or winner Rodri has been out for some time and is expected to remain on the sidelines for another two or three months.
In a blow to their back-line, John Stones and Manuel Akanji are both injured and won’t return for at least another month.
There are also question marks over Oscar Bobb and Nathan Ake, both of whom are currently being assessed.
Man City predicted line up
Nottingham Forest vs Man City: How to watch and listen
City’s trip to Nottingham Forest will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate, discovery+ and discovery+ App. Live radio commentary will be available on talkSPORT.
Nottingham Forest vs Man City stats
Nottingham Forest are winless in their last nine league games against Man City
Man City have won their last three Premier League games against Forest by an aggregate of 7-0
Man City are looking to win four straight league games against Forest for the first time ever
Nottingham Forest are winless in their last three Premier League games
Only Liverpool and Arsenal have won more Premier League points in 2025 than Man City
Nottingham Forest v Man City referee stats
Chris Kavanagh will be the man in the middle for Saturday’s encounter at the City Ground.
This will be the 39-year-old’s 18th Premier League game of the season and his third in charge of Man City and Nottingham Forest.
Kavanagh’s last Premier League outing saw Brighton beat Chelsea 3-0 back in mid-February.
His last match featuring Forest saw the Tricky Trees bag a 1-1 draw with league leaders and title favourites Liverpool.
His last City game, meanwhile, was also against City as the Reds picked up a 2-0 win at Anfield back in December.
Nottingham Forest vs Man City prediction
Nottingham Forest don’t have a great record against Manchester City and are looking to avoid a fourth straight league defeat against the Citizens.
However, Nuno Santo and his men boast a solid home record this season and have already stopped the likes of Liverpool and Arsenal at the City Ground.
See below our prediction for the game…
