Nottingham Forest face Manchester United tonight, looking to cement their place in the top three of the Premier League.
With just nine games remaining of the campaign, Forest are currently third, with a seven-point cushion over Newcastle who sit in sixth.
UEFA have now confirmed that five Premier League teams will get in the Champions League this season and that has boosted Forest’s chances.
Forest will hope to take momentum into this one after defeating Brighton on penalties at the weekend to reach the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.
In that competition, Nuno Espirito Santo will come up against Manchester City once more but tonight it’s the red half of Manchester to contend with.
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Chris Sutton predicts whether Nottingham Forest will beat Manchester United
Sutton is a self-proclaimed Forest fan this season.
We say this season because this is the first time since returning to the Premier League that Sutton has milked Forest being his boyhood team.
That seems awfully coincidental with the team flying high this term…
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Sutton believes that Forest will come through this game, but he is expecting a narrow victory and now the one-sided affair that others are anticipating.
He told BBC Sport: “I am concerned how Nottingham Forest will cope without Chris Wood up front if he’s out injured.
“Forest made quite a few changes against Brighton in the FA Cup over the weekend and still got through with the Wood-chopper, but they really need him back as soon as possible.
“It will be harder for Forest without him, but I still think they can repeat their win at Old Trafford in December.
“I’m not sure either side will be too bothered about having the ball but Forest fans are happy for them to sit deep and play on the centre, even when they’re at home, and they are really good at it.”
Sutton proceeded to pick a 1-0 win for Forest and nobody of that persuasion on Trentside tonight will mind that one bit.
Forest can complete unlikely double vs Manchester United
The Reds beat United 3-2 back in December and it was at that point that lots of Forest fans started to believe this could be a truly memorable season.
Forest never really looked in danger of not winning after two quick goals in the second half and it was a really positive performance.
Tonight, the Reds have a genuine chance to move clear of the chasing pack with the teams directly below them not in action until tomorrow.
Hopefully, the City Ground can be as raucous as ever and a huge three points can be claimed on Trentside.