Nottingham Forest will play against Manchester City on Saturday at the City Ground. Forest has only won once in their last seven matches but won two FA Cup matches in penalty shootouts against Exeter City and Ipswich Town.
Manager Nuno Espirito Santo has most of his players available. They all came back healthy from their FA Cup win last Monday. The only player missing is second-choice goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, who has an hamstring issue. Nikola Milenkovic was not in the squad last Monday, but he was likely just given a rest.
Manchester City advanced to the FA Cup quarter-finals by defeating Plymouth Argyle last weekend. Nathan Ake was substituted at halftime in a recent match. Unfortunately, he requires surgery on a recurring foot issue and is not expected to play again this season. The medical team informed Pep Guardiola that he will be sidelined for 10 to 11 weeks.
This poses a challenge for Guardiola, as other defenders Manuel Akanji and John Stones will also be out for at least another month.
Nottingham Forest’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League are looking slim due to inconsistent performances. Besides a 7-0 victory over Brighton, they have struggled against teams with similar goals. They lost to Bournemouth, Fulham, and Newcastle, and their last league match against Arsenal ended in a goalless draw.
However, Forest has been strong at home, with no team in the top flight conceding fewer goals at City Ground. Manager Nuno Espirito Santo hopes the team’s recent penalty shootout win in the FA Cup will boost their confidence as they prepare for a quarter-final against Brighton after the international break.
Manchester City will be looking to move into third place in the league by defeating Nottingham Forest. It has been a challenging season for the defending champions, making a fifth consecutive title seem unlikely. Last weekend, they came from behind to win against Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup, with Nico O’Reilly scoring twice and Kevin De Bruyne adding a late goal.
Kick-off for the match will be at 12:30 GMT on Saturday, March 8, 2025. Chris Kavanagh will be the referee, assisted by Lee Betts and Scott Ledger. Sam Allison will serve as the fourth official, with Darren England and Akil Howson handling VAR duties.
Predicted Line-ups
Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Aina, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams; Dominguez, Anderson; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Wood.
Man City XI: Ederson, Lewis, Khusanov, Dias, Gvardiol; Gonzalez, Silva; Savinho, Marmoush, Doku, Haaland.
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