Nottingham Forest travel to face a Manchester City side who could be there for the taking after their recent poor form, something unheard of during the Pep Guardiola reign.
City come into the clash on a run of six losses and a draw in their last seven matches, with Nuno Espírito Santo undoubtedly wanting to inflict more pain on the hosts at the Etihad.
The Reds come into the clash full of confidence after returning to winning ways in the Premier League at the weekend after defeating Ipswich Town 1-0 at the City Ground.
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Chris Wood bagged his ninth league goal of what’s been an impressive campaign for the club, potentially jumping ahead of the defending champions tonight should they claim all three points.
Numerous key selection calls lie ahead for Nuno tonight, with the 50-year-old looking to claim a famous victory once again, as they did against league leaders Liverpool back in September.
Nottingham Forest team news ahead of Man City clash
Despite returning to first-team training in recent days, Brazilian midfielder Danilo will miss the clash with Guardiola’s side tonight but is said to be making good progress, according to the Reds boss.
As for fellow midfielder Ibrahim Sangare, his return to action may be a little further away, with the Ivorian still yet to recover from his hamstring issue that has seen him miss the last ten league outings.
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The aforementioned duo are the only two absentees from Nuno’s squad with everyone else fit ahead of the trip to the North West.
However, the game does present some similarities to the clash against Arne Slot’s side a few months ago, with the Reds boss having a couple of selection headaches.
The win at Anfield saw a more pragmatic defensive approach, before hitting the opposition on the counter-attack, as seen with Callum Hudson-Odoi’s superb strike that day.
Despite this, Liverpool demonstrated at the weekend that the best approach to beating this current City side is by utilising the huge space available in wide areas, isolating their defenders one on one.
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Should Nuno opt for a similar approach, he will need to recall one player who could be the Reds’ own version of a City star who may cause them such issues this evening.
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The player Nuno must unleash against Man City
City attacker Phil Foden is one of the most dangerous attackers in England’s top flight, as demonstrated by his tally of 27 goals and 12 assists in all competitions last term.
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However, he’s struggled in the Premier League this season, failing to score a single goal, and only registering one assist in the process.
Regardless, he will be a huge threat in the meeting later on this evening, but Nuno could unleash his own version of the England international in the form of Anthony Elanga.
The Swede, like Foden, came through at an academy in Manchester, with the current Forest star having the pace and creativity in the final third to inflict yet more pain on Guardiola.
Elanga, who’s previously been dubbed as “frightening” by journalist Laurie Whitwell, has failed to replicate his displays from the previous campaign, but he’s still notched 14 chances created this season, the third-highest of any player in the first-team squad, numbers that a certainly Foden-esque.
Anthony Elanga's for Forest in the PL (2024/25)
Statistics
Games played
Minutes played
Goals & assists
Chances created
Pass accuracy
Successful crosses
Shots taken
Stats via FotMob
He was subsequently dropped to the bench for Jota Silva in the last outing, but Elanga’s rapid pace and direct nature could make him perfect on the counter for the Reds, in a game where they will undoubtedly have less of the ball.
The 22-year-old has previously shown that he’s capable of producing the goods against the very best sides in England, registering the assist for the winner against Liverpool, with the youngster needing a similar display tonight.
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It’s a huge chance to extend their current winning run tonight against an outfit who are in the worst form of their manager’s reign at the Etihad.
Direct and quick transitions will be the key for Forest, with Elanga having all the tools to do just that and be at the centre of another memorable night for the supporters.
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