Nottingham Forest vs Man City: EPL Match Preview, Predicted Line-ups, and Fantasy XI

Nottingham Forest vs Man City is next as City will hope to take a firm grip on the Premier League title race on Saturday when they face off against Nottingham Forest.

Match Details:

• Location: Nottingham, England
• Stadium: City Ground
• Date: Saturday 18 February
• Kick-off Time: 15:00 GMT / 10:00 ET / 07:00 PT/ 8:30 PM
• Referee: Graham Scott
• VAR: Peter Bankes

Nottingham Forest vs Man City: Match Preview

Pep Guardiola's side made it to the top of the table for the first time since the second weekend of the season after beating Arsenal 3-1 at the Emirates on Wednesday night.

Arsenal may have a game in hand, but City are where they feel most comfortable and a win against Forest would suggest a run of form is being built.

Forest's ambitions are more modest but nonetheless important. Having seen an upturn in form take them away from the relegation zone, their job now is to ensure they build enough of a gap that they are not in the scrap come the end of the season.

🔛🔝#ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/uDxkjfzvp9

— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 17, 2023

Nottingham Forest vs Man City: Head to Head:

The last time Nottingham Forest hosted Manchester City in a Premier League match was in September 1995.

Forest won the game 3-0. Nottingham Forest were beaten 6-0 by Manchester City in the reverse fixture at Etihad in the first half of the season.

Team News:

Nott. Forest:

There are plenty of injury concerns for Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper to contend with, particularly in central defence. Scott McKenna is expected to miss six to eight weeks after going off against Fulham, while it's even worse news for Willy Boly – he could miss the remainder of the season.

Dean Henderson, Moussa Niakhate, Taiwo Awoniyi, Giulian Biancone, Omar Richards and Cheikhou Kouyate are out, with Jesse Lingard also doubtful with a knee problem. Ryan Yates could return from illness as Jonjo Shelvey pushes for a first start after joining from Newcastle.

Man City:

The treatment room is a lot less busy at Manchester City as the only real concern for Guardiola is John Stones. The England centre-back has a hamstring injury and it would be a big surprise if he played any part in Nottingham.

That full-time whistle feeling 💪🔵 pic.twitter.com/mUGMrtpndV

— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 16, 2023

There could be a raft of changes in defence as Guardiola keeps an eye on Wednesday's Champions League clash against RB Leipzig – the likes of Rico Lewis, Manuel Akanji and Aymeric Laporte could start.

Key Stats

• Nottingham Forest are hosting Manchester City in a Premier League match after more than two decades. They last met at the City Ground in September 1995.
• Manchester City have a chance to complete a top-flight double against Forest for the first time since the 1990/91 season. They had won the reverse fixture 6-0 in August courtesy of a Erling Haaland hat-trick.
• Nottingham Forest are on a seven-match unbeaten run at home. They have won four and drawn three.
• Manchester City have come out on top in their last nine top-flight fixtures against newly-promoted opposition.
• Erling Haaland is all set to become Manchester City's highest goal scorer in a Premier League season. Currently, he is level with Sergio Aguero's final tally in the 2014/15 season having scored 26 already.

Predicted Line-ups:

Nottingham Forest predicted lineup (4-3-3): Navas; Aurier, Worrall, Felipe, Lodi; Danilo, Freuler, Shelvey; Gibbs-White; Johnson, Wood.

Man City predicted lineup (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Laporte; Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland.

NTF vs MCI: Fantasy XI

Navas; Dias, Laporte, Lodi; Danilo,Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Gibbs-White; Haaland.