Manchester City make another attempt to end their dismal run as Nottingham Forest arrive at the Etihad Stadium. City have won none of their last seven games in all competitions and their last victory was back in October, when a 1-0 home win over Southampton clinched the points for the Blues.
City have already dropped to fifth in the league table and defeat against Forest, together with victories from other teams below, could see the Blues drop as low as eighth in the table, which is currently Manchester United territory.
Forest will leapfrog over the Blues with a win but City, eleven points behind Liverpool after their latest weekend defeat, desperately need the points that will keep them away from the obscure mid-table sides.
Form
Forest have won four of their last six matches in the Premier League, with their latest win, a 1-0 victory over Ipswich at the weekend, coming off the back of two straight defeats at Arsenal and home to Newcastle. Prior to those defeats, Forest had won three in a row, 1-0 against Crystal Palace and 3-0 over West Ham, both at home with a 3-1 win at Leicester sandwiched in between.
Forest have one of the best away records in the Premier League, winning three and losing one of their six games so far, which also includes a 1-0 victory at Liverpool, the only defeat so far for the league leaders.
The visitors have scored eight goals away from home, one of the lowest tallies for an away team, but have only conceded 7, a record bettered only by Liverpool and Manchester United (5) and Chelsea (6).
Ones to Watch
New Zealand striker Chris Wood is excelling at Forest this season. So far, he has scored nine goals from 13 matches, has had 22 shots at goal, and has a shot accuracy of 68%, with an impressive goal conversion rate of 41%. His last goal was the winner against Ipswich at the weekend, while his last away goal being a brace in the 3-1 win at Leicester. Four of Wood’s nine goals have come away from home.
Elliot Anderson is the man to watch for assists. He has created 17 chances, three of which have been taken and has attempted 325 passes so far this season, 273 have been successful which gives him a pass conversion rate of 84%.
The Boss
Former Wolves and Spurs boss Nuno Espírito Santo is the man at the helm at Forest. He joined the club in December 2023 and has presided over 40 games so far in the Forest hot seat. He has won 13 and lost 15 of those matches, giving him a win ratio of 33%.
Last Meeting
These two teams last met in September 2023 and the Blues looked like they would score another hatful as Phil Foden and Erling Haaland sent them into a 2-0 lead after just 14 minutes. However, the Blues couldn’t add to their score and Forest couldn’t find a way past the City defence and that’s how it finished.