Analysing Nottingham Forest before Wednesday’s clash | OneFootball

An in-depth look at our opponents this Wednesday…

Men's Team

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We welcome Nottingham Forest to the Etihad Stadium in a 19:30 (UK) start on 4 March.

Get tickets and hospitality for Wednesday’s game!

We’ll be looking to maintain pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal, who we’re five points back from with a game in hand.

After a 2-1 victory at the City Ground in late December, we’re looking for a double over the relegation threatened side.

Here we find out a little more about our opponents…

Recent form

Forest sit 17th in the Premier League with 27 points from 28 games.

That leaves them two points clear of 18th placed West Ham and therefore well aware of the threat of relegation.

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Their last Premier League victory came six games ago, with a 2-0 success at Brentford in late January.

Since then, they’ve drawn twice and lost three games.

Preferred lineup

Forest tend to favour a 4-2-3-1 formation, with a fairly settled XI in the Premier League despite their difficult form.

Former City man Stefan Ortega Moreno has been first choice in goal since his January move, but missed the weekend trip to Brighton through injury so could be a doubt for this one.

The back four remains consistent, with Neco Williams, Murillo, Nikola Milenkovic and Ola Aina undoubtedly first choice.

Ahead of them, Elliot Anderson and Ibrahim Sangare are the holdings midfielders, while captain Morgan Gibbs-White has license to get forward in the No.10 role.

Callum Hudson-Odoi and Omari Hutchinson are the two first names in the wide roles, while Igor Jesus had been most likely to start up front in Chris Wood’s absence.

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Manager

Vitor Pereira is Forest’s fourth manager of the season, arriving on 15 February.

Since then, he’s suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Liverpool and 2-1 loss at Brighton but he has found success in a two-legged Europa League play-off against Fenerbahce.

Pereira will be most recognisable to English football fans for his 32 games in charge of Wolves, keeping them up last season before leaving in November after a disastrous start to their campaign.

The 57-year-old Portuguese is well known for short stints with clubs, having now had 15 managerial jobs across three continents in the last 22 years.

Head-to-head

We have won four of our last five Premier League matches against Nottingham Forest, winning 2-1 earlier this season at the City Ground.

Since returning to the Premier League in 2022/23, Nottingham Forest have lost all three of their away Premier League games against City without scoring, conceding 11 times.

They are winless in eight away top-flight visits to us since a 3-0 win in November 1989.

How they attack

Only Wolves have scored fewer than Forest’s 26 goals so far. However, that’s from an xG of 32.5 – which suggests they’re not taking as many chances as they should.

While they’ve not been afraid to shoot (364 shots is the eighth most in the league) – their conversion rate is the worst in the division.

No side has sent more crosses into the box from open play than Forest, averaging 18.5 per match.

They’re firmly mid table for headed goals and fast breaks, but they are capable of scoring from anywhere on the pitch with their 14 different goalscorers the fourth most in the league.

Gibbs-White is their top scorer with seven, ahead of Callum Hudson-Odoi on three and a host of names on two.

How they defend

Having let in 41 goals from 28 games, Forest’s defence is better than the rest of the sides around them in the relegation scrap.

Matz Sels, who may play if Stefan Ortega Moreno is unavailable, is tenth in terms of all goalkeepers across the Premier League for save percentage, stopping 67.4% of shots on his goal.

And with only five headed goals conceded, they’re a top half side when it comes to defending aerially.

However, with 13 goals conceded in the last 15 minutes, they tend to end games poorly.

With only 40 yellow cards so far, there are only two Premier League sides who have a better disciplinary record than them.

Be at City v Nottingham Forest!

We welcome Forest to the Etihad Stadium at 19:30 (UK) on Wednesday 4 March.

And you can be there to see it as Pep Guardiola’s City continue to chase Premier League glory.

Tickets for this game are now on sale to all fans, starting from just £25 for adults and £23 for U18s.

Or, if you fancy something more special, hospitality packages start from just £199 with other experiences tailored for every budget!

Buy your City v Forest tickets here!