Two Premier League teams battling for a top-four finish lock horns at the City Ground on Saturday lunchtime as third-placed Nottingham Forest play host to fourth-placed Manchester City.
The Citizens are looking to complete the double over the Tricky Trees for the second successive season after securing a comfortable 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture at the Etihad Stadium in early December.
Match preview
After fighting to avoid relegation last season, not even the most ardent of Nottingham Forest supporters would have envisaged their side battling for a top-four finish this term as well as being just one game away from reaching Wembley in the FA Cup.
The Tricky Trees have required penalty shootouts to edge past both Exeter City and Ipswich Town in the fourth and fifth rounds of the FA Cup, beating the latter 5-4 in a shootout on Monday night following a 1-1 draw in 120 minutes at the City Ground.
Forest will travel to Brighton & Hove Albion in the quarter-finals, and since thrashing the Seagulls 7-0 in the Premier League on February 1, Nuno Espirito Santo's side have suffered a dip in form, as they have picked up just one point across their last three top-flight fixtures.
Back-to-back losses against Fulham (2-1) and Newcastle United (4-3) were followed by a goalless stalemate with Arsenal on home soil just over a week ago, and while they remain third in the table, the chasing pack have closed the gap, with just six points now separating third from 10th heading into the final 11 matches of the season.
A return to winning ways for Forest is not a given on Saturday, as they are winless in their last nine league encounters against Man City (D2 L7) since securing a 3-2 victory at Maine Road in the second tier back in December 1997.
Three days after sealing a slender 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League, Man City avoided a shock FA Cup exit at the Etihad Stadium as they came from behind to beat Plymouth Argyle 3-1 in the fifth round last weekend.
Kevin De Bruyne was on the scoresheet after setting up both of Nico O'Reilly's goals either side of half time to help the Citizens set up a quarter-final tie at Bournemouth later this month and keep their hopes of winning silverware alive.
Pep Guardiola's side are the bookmakers' favourites to win the FA Cup, but they will now shift their focus back to the Premier League and their battle to qualify for next season's Champions League; they can consolidate their place in the top four and are guaranteed to end the weekend in third place if they beat Forest in Saturday's early kickoff.
Man City's trip to the City Ground will represent their eighth Premier League game in which they start the day in the top four since the start of November. In that time, they have collected just one point from their previous seven matches and have conceded at least twice on each occasion (shipping 19 goals in total).
However, only Liverpool (22) and Arsenal (18) have accumulated more PL points in 2025 than Man City (16 - W5 D1 L2), while no team has netted more often in the top flight than the Citizens this calendar year (21 - same as Liverpool).
Guardiola's men can be confident of success on Saturday, as they have won their last three Premier League meetings with Nottingham Forest by an aggregate score of 7-0 - never before have they won four in a row against the Tricky Trees in the top flight.
Team News
Nottingham Forest's only injury absentee is backup goalkeeper Carlos Miguel (hamstring) and Matz Sels, who saved the decisive spot kick in the penalty-shootout triumph over Ipswich, will remain between the sticks.
Centre-back Nikola Milenkovic and versatile full-back Neco Williams are set to replace Morato and Alex Moreno respectively and join Ola Aina and Murillo in a four-man defence, while Elliot Anderson is expected to be recalled in midfield and could start alongside either Danilo, Nicolas Dominguez or Ryan Yates.
Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi are both set to retain their places on the flanks, while Morgan Gibbs-White should be restored in the number 10 role behind top scorer Chris Wood, who has been involved in 11 goals in his last nine PL games (eight goals, three assists) and is also the only player to score for Forest against Man City since their return to the PL in 2022.
As for Man City, Nathan Ake has joined Rodri (ACL), Manuel Akanji (abductor), John Stones (thigh) and Oscar Bobb (fitness) in the treatment room after undergoing successful surgery on a fractured foot earlier this week.
After making 11 changes to his side for the win over Plymouth, Guardiola is set to freshen up his team once again on Saturday, with Ederson, Abdukodir Khusanov, Ruben Dias, Mateo Kovacic, Nico Gonzalez, Savinho, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden and Omar Marmoush all pushing for a recall.
One player who is expected to start for the Citizens in striker Erling Haaland - 13 of his 20 Premier League goals this season have either put Man City one goal ahead (nine) or drawn them level (four) in a match, and no player has scored more such goals in the competition this term (Mohamed Salah also 13).
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Danilo, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Kovacic; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku; Haaland
We say: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City
Man City have had almost a full week to rest and gain some valuable time on the training ground - particularly the younger players and new signings - much to the delight of Guardiola, who will hope to have a refreshed side firing against a well-organised Forest backline that has been one of the most difficult to break down in the PL this season.
The Citizens did score three goals against Forest earlier this season, though, and scored 11 more in their four meetings prior to that, so they will certainly back themselves to find the net on Saturday. Forest will also fancy their chances of making the net ripple with leading marksman Wood up top, but we are backing the visitors to just edge this contest and climb up to third.
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