Pep Guardiola and Manchester City will be desperate to bring an end to their seven-game winless streak this week as Nottingham Forest are their latest challengers.
The reigning Premier League champions find themselves in a rut having not won any contest across competitions in over a month, and having lost all of their last four matches in the top-flight leaving them fifth heading into this week’s encounter.
Manchester City’s players are being deemed as off the boil and many are questioning whether the squad has reached the end of its competitive peak with a rebuild across positions required over the course of the next few transfer markets.
Last time out came a visit to Anfield and an opponent that has caused Manchester City difficulties throughout Pep Guardiola’s tenure. However, this was one way traffic from Liverpool as they relatively cruised to a 2-0 win over the champions.
As for Nottingham Forest, they returned to winning ways after back-to-back defeats in the Premier League by dismissing of Ipswich Town at the City Ground thanks to a single goal from the ever-present Chris Wood via the penalty spot.
Ahead of Manchester City’s return to Premier League action following a seventh successive contest without a win last Sunday afternoon, here is everything you need to know ahead of the encounter with Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium!
Match Details
Manchester City (5th) take on Nottingham Forest (6th) in the Premier League on Wednesday night at the Etihad Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 19:30 (UK).
Match Officials
The Premier League have confirmed that Michael Oliver will be the lead match referee for Manchester City’s meeting with Nottingham Forest this week, with Peter Bankes taking on the role of Video Assistant Referee from Stockley Park.
You can check out the full list of match referees, HERE!
Team News
Manchester City will, of course, remain without their Ballon d’Or winner Rodri this week and for several more months, whilst Oscar Bobb also remains sidelined as he recovers from a fractured leg.
Mateo Kovacic is not expected to play any role as he recovers from an injury picked up on international duty with Croatia, whilst John Stones is expected to remain sidelined after Pep Guardiola confirmed the defender has a foot problem.
As for Kevin De Bruyne, who remains on the bench for Manchester City in their recent matches, manager Guardiola has insisted that the Belgian is slowly recovering to a better level and has again improved over the last few days.
As for Manchester City’s opponents in Nottingham Forest, the visiting side are expected to remain without Ibrahim Sangare and Danilo dos Santos de Oliveira for their trip to the Etihad Stadium.
Head To Head
Manchester City and Nottingham Forest have faced one another a total of 104 times across their histories, with Wednesday night’s hosts at the Etihad coming out on top 43 times during that period, drawing 28 meetings, and being on the losing side of a scoreline 33 times.
Pep Guardiola and his players last faced off against Nottingham Forest during the business end of last season, securing a 0-2 win on the road thanks to goals from Josko Gvardiol and Erling Haaland at the City Ground.
The same scoreline would also be seen during the last meeting at the Etihad Stadium between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest, with goals from Phil Foden and Erling Haaland, but a dramatic red card offence from Rodri on Morgan Gibbs-White.
Statistics
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last eight league games against Nottingham Forest (W6, D2), since a 3-2 home loss in the second tier in December 1997.
Nottingham Forest have lost their last four away league games against Manchester City by an aggregate score of 12-0, while in the top-flight they are winless in their last seven visits (D3, L4) since a 3-0 win in November 1989.
Nottingham Forest have lost their last five away games against reigning top-flight champions by an aggregate score of 21-2. Their last such win was against Manchester United in December 1994 (2-1).
Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 31 Premier League home games played on a Wednesday (W27 D4), winning each of the last 20. Their last such defeat was in May 2010 against Tottenham.
Nottingham Forest have alternated between defeat (4) and victory (4) in their last eight midweek Premier League games (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday), beating Fulham 3-1 last time out in April.
How To Watch
Those in the United Kingdom will be able to watch Manchester City against Nottingham Forest live on Amazon Prime Video, with a live radio broadcast from BBC Radio Manchester for those in the Greater Manchester region.
Viewers in the United States can watch the latest Manchester City encounter live on Peacock.
You can find full global TV listings for the midweek Premier League clash HERE!
City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout matchday, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!