Nottingham Forest vs Man City: Teams desperate for points for different reasons in City Ground clash – kick-off time, team news and how to follow
Nottingham Forest host Manchester City this weekend in a big match for both sides in the Premier League.
The Citizens are looking to win their fourth consecutive top-flight title and are chasing Arsenal at the top of the table.
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Pep Guardiola’s side have been unbeaten in the league since December, and after being knocked out of the Champions League, they have one less competition to think about.
Meanwhile, Forest are locked in a tense relegation battle, with Luton and Burnley closing the gap.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side made headlines last week with a statement targeting PGMOL over their VAR appointment during the 2-0 defeat to Everton. So you can expect a fiery atmosphere as Forest fans show their frustrations with the officials.
Nottingham Forest vs Man City: Nuno in difficulty
Nuno returned to the Premier League at the end of 2023 after failure at Tottenham and success with Wolves.
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He replaced the very popular Steve Cooper in the hopes that things would improve.
However, since his appointment, Forest have won just four league matches, drawing four and losing nine.
During this period, they scored 25 goals but conceded 30, which prevented them from gaining significant points.
This is unusual as Nuno’s teams at Wolves were built on strong defences.
However, Forest have kept just one clean sheet since his appointment, and with the arrival of Man City, they are unlikely to get a second.
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- Nottingham Forest have lost only three of their last 16 top-flight matches at home against Manchester City (W10 D3), 2-0 in 1985, 3-1 in 1990 and 2-0 in 1993.
- Manchester City are looking to complete their first league double against Nottingham Forest since 1999-00 in the Second Division, and their first in the top flight since 1990-91.
- Between May 1991 and December 1994, Nottingham Forest were unbeaten in seven league matches against the reigning top-flight champions (W4 D3). Since then, they have lost eight of their nine matches (D1), conceding 32 goals in these matches.
Nottingham Forest vs Man City: team news
The hosts have a relatively large squad to choose from, with Willy Boly the only permanent absentee.
Taiwo Awoyini is also back in full training and is expected to be part of the matchday squad.
Meanwhile, City were without Erling Haaland in the 4-0 win over Brighton on Thursday, and with that game coming so quickly, he may not be fit to feature again.
Jack Grealish and Jeremy Doku both came off the bench and will be hoping to start.
Meanwhile, John Stones and Ruben Dias are expected to return in defense.
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- Nottingham Forest have won just one of their last nine Premier League matches (D3 L5), although they are unbeaten in their last three games at the City Ground (W1 D2).
- Nottingham Forest have kept just one clean sheet in their last 23 Premier League games, thanks to a 2-0 win over West Ham in February.
- Manchester City have lost both of their Premier League games in the Midlands so far this season, losing 2-1 at Wolves and 1-0 at Aston Villa. They last lost three such visits in a row between March and December 2008.
Nottingham Forest vs Man City: What was said?
talkSPORT’s Jamie O’Hara believes the Premier League title race is over.
Speaking to the Sports Bar to a City fan, he said: “Arsenal have to play Spurs, it’s an easy three points for Spurs.
“You’ve got a game in hand – it’s all over, get ready for the open-top bus parade.”
“Just fix the Liverpool farewell tour bus and take it to Manchester, get it fixed and get the tour bus ready.”
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- Nottingham Forest manager Nuno Espírito Santo has won three of his last five Premier League meetings with Man City (L2), including his most recent with Spurs in August 2021 (1-0). In fact, the Portuguese has only lost one of his four top-flight home matches against Man City boss Pep Guardiola (W2 D1), a 1-3 defeat with Wolves in September 2020 .
- Man City boss Pep Guardiola will become the 19th manager to manage 300 Premier League games in this match, and only the fifth to do so for a single club. Six of the last seven managers to do so have lost their marquee game, barring a 3-0 Jürgen Klopp win over Aston Villa earlier this season.
- Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White has been involved in four goals in his last three Premier League home games (2 goals, 2 assists). Indeed, since his return to the top flight last season, Gibbs-White has been involved in 19 goals at the City Ground, at least eight more than any other player (8 goals, 11 assists).
- Chris Wood’s first Premier League goal for Nottingham Forest came against Man City in this exact match last season. He has been involved in six goals in his last nine home league starts for Forest (5 goals, 1 assist).
Nottingham Forest vs Man City: date and how to follow
This Premier League match will take place on Sunday April 28.
Kick-off at the City Ground is scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League will show the action.
Sky Go customers can watch on their laptops and mobile devices.
Alternatively, supporters can purchase a one-day NOW TV pass for £11.98.
talkSPORT will also have updates throughout the afternoon and talkSPORT.com will have all the reaction.
To tune into talkSPORT or talkSPORT 2 via the website, click HERE for the live stream. You can also listen via the talkSPORT app, on DAB digital radio, via your smart speaker and on 1089 or 1053 AM.
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