Fresh from snatch top spot in the Premier League table, Manchester City will aim to cement their place at the summit when they face Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday.
Having defeated Arsenal in midweek, Pep Guardiola’s side find themselves level with the Gunners on 51 points, although Mikel Arteta’s men have a game in hand.
.@ErlingHaaland's 32nd goal of the season! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6IUnUSBYm9— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 16, 2023
.@ErlingHaaland's 32nd goal of the season! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/6IUnUSBYm9
At the opposite end of the standings, Nottingham Forest occupy fourteenth place – six points outside the relegation zone and 27 points behind Man City.
When Forest only managed to win one of their opening 11 Premier League games, it looked as though they were destined for a swift return to the Championship.
However, the Trickey Trees have turned things around in recent months – losing just two of their previous nine league outings.
Steve Cooper’s side even enjoyed a five-match unbeaten run at the start of the year, taking 11 points from a possible 15 to open up a sizeable gap between them and the bottom three.
That said, Forest were outplayed in last weekend’s 2-0 defeat to Fulham, so they look set to struggle against Man City.
As for the Cityzens, they head into Saturday’s clash on the back of a 3-1 victory over Arsenal – snatching top spot in the Premier League as a result.
Erling Haaland scored once again last time out, taking his tally for the season to 32 goals in 30 games across all competitions.
Guardiola’s side have now won five of their previous six games across all competitions, with four victories coming in their last five league outings.
When you look at the bigger picture, City have only lost four of their 23 Premier League matches this season – picking up 16 wins and three draws.
Head-to-head: Manchester City thrashed Nottingham Forest 6-0 in the reverse fixture back in August, with Haaland netting a hat-trick and Julian Alvarez bagging a brace.
The teams have only faced each other six times since 1999, with Forest managing a solitary victory during that period.
Team news: Nottingham Forest’s extensive injury list contains Moussa Niakhate, Dean Henderson, Taiwo Anwoniyi, Giulian Biancone, Willy Boly, Scott McKenna, Omar Richards and Cheikhou Kouyate.
By contrast, Man City have just one injury absentee at the moment, with centre-back John Stones set to miss Saturday’s clash.
Although Forest have upped their game since the turn of the year, it’s fair to say that Man City are on a completely different level to Cooper’s side.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Manchester City will thrash Nottingham Forest on Saturday – scoring over 3.5 goals in the process.