Nottingham Forest have been backed to take advantage of a Manchester City side whose confidence is “shot to pieces” when they face the reigning Premier League champions.
The Reds make the trip to the Etihad Stadium to take on Pep Guardiola’s men on Wednesday night (7.30pm). The two teams are currently separated by just one point in the table, with City in fifth and Forest immediately below them.
After back-to-back defeats, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side returned to winning ways last weekend when they toppled Ipswich Town 1-0 at the City Ground. Meanwhile, their midweek opponents are without a win in seven games in all competitions.
It is quite the slump in form for City. And BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton is confident Forest can extend that winless run by claiming a 2-2 draw at the Etihad.
“Manchester City's form has to turn around at some point, but there is little sign of that happening at the moment,” he said in his BBC Sport column. “Nottingham Forest are going to be awkward opponents for them and, as the only team to have beaten Liverpool so far, they will fancy their chances at Etihad Stadium too. Nuno Espirito Santo's side love defending and they will make it very hard for City to break them down.
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“I did not mind seeing Pep Guardiola's defiance at the end of City's defeat at Anfield, when he raised six fingers at the Liverpool fans who were chanting 'you're getting sacked in the morning' at him. Pep's players will like it too, and they are still fighting, but how can I back them to get a positive result based on what we have seen in the past few weeks?
“City still have the talent but it has not been clicking and, physically, Forest will probably have the edge. The defending champions' confidence is shot to pieces and teams must feel they can get at them.
“So, I think there will be goals and this could turn out to be a battle between two big number nines - 'The Wood Chopper’ Chris Wood for Forest and City's Erling Haaland. I fancy both of them to score.”
Fellow pundit Paul Merson also believes the Reds are capable of causing their hosts problems. However, he has tipped City to come through with a 2-1 victory.
“The longer this game goes on at 0-0, the more you worry for Manchester City,” he said in his Sportskeeda column. “I’m watching City and I don’t understand what’s happening.
“I want to predict a win for City, but this game is just perfect for a team like Nottingham Forest if I’m being honest. They are excellent on the counter and facing City at this stage suits them. If they fail to score in the opening 20 minutes of this game, they will be in trouble.”
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