Nottingham Forest v Man City preview
With his team hoping to move top of the Premier League on Saturday, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is keeping a keen eye on any over-indulgence by his players.
“Imagine if one player arrives three kilos heavier,” hypothesised the exacting Spaniard. “He will stay in Manchester – he will not travel to Nottingham.”
Guardiola is preparing to face Sean Dyche for the first time since the Englishman became Forest head coach in October.
“We have faced each other many, many times,” he said. “It’s lovely to see him and I’m happy he’s at a big club like [Forest].”
While City will usurp Arsenal at the summit if they win at the City Ground and stay there if the Gunners drop points at home to Brighton & Hove Albion later in the day, Forest are eyeing the middle of the table and an increase on their five-point gap from the relegation zone.
Dyche’s side lost 1-0 at Fulham on Monday but had won three of their previous four matches in all competitions, including a 3-0 thrashing of Tottenham in their last home game on December 14.
“I don’t mind them having a Christmas dinner – why not?” asked Dyche, pointing to his head while discussing his squad.
“Sometimes the psychology is as important as anything with athletes. “Within reason, I want them to enjoy their Christmas Day. I certainly do, it’s a big part of their lives.”
Nottingham Forest v Man City team news
Nottingham Forest centre-back Willy Boly and midfielder Ibrahim Sangare are at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 with Ivory Coast,.
Goalkeeper Matz Sels returned from a groin problem on the bench in the defeat at Craven Cottage, as did midfielder Nicolas Dominguez following a knee issue.
Midfielder Ryan Yates (hamstring) and full-back Ola Aina and forward Chris Wood (both knee) are sidelined.
City wideman Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria) and forward Omar Marmoush are at AFCON but defender John Stones could be in contention following a hamstring injury.
Midfielder Mateo Kovacic has a long-term ankle injury. Winger Jeremy Doku (leg) and midfielders Oscar Bobb and Rodri (both hamstring) could return at the start of 2026.
Nottingham Forest v Man City expected line-ups
Nottingham Forest starting XI: John Victor, Nicolo Savona, Nikola Milenkovic, Murillo, Neco Williams, Omari Hutchinson, Elliot Anderson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Douglas Luiz, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Igor Jesus
Manchester City starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Nico O’Reilly, Bernardo Silva, Nico Gonzalez, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden, Erling Haaland
How to watch Forest v Man City: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Saturday is at 12:30 GMT (07:30 ET / 04:30 PT). Live TV coverage in the UK is on TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate and the Discovery Plus app.
TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.
Nottingham Forest v Man City stats
- Having beaten City 1-0 in March, Forest are targeting consecutive league wins in the fixture for the first time since September 1995
- Forest have taken 11 points from their last 12 home matches (W3 D2 L7), with only West Ham (9) and Wolves (8) gaining fewer among sides who were also in the Premier League last season
- They have won their last four Premier League matches played between Christmas and New Year, all under Nuno Espírito Santo in 2023 and 2024
- The most recent of those was on December 29 last year against Dyche’s Everton
- Dyche has lost 14 and drawn two of his meetings with Guardiola. Only Steve Bruce against Alex Ferguson (17) has managed more games against one manager without a single victory in the Premier League
- City have failed to score in half of their Premier League away games against Nottingham Forest (3 of 6) but have avoided defeat when they’ve netted (W2 D1)
- The Cityzens are undefeated in 10 Premier League matches between Christmas and New Year (W8 D2) since losing 3-2 to Wolves on December 27 2019
- They have won each of their last three leage games 3-0, last winning more consecutively without conceding in February 2021 (6)
- No team in English top-flight history has ever won four in a row by at least three goals to nil
- Erling Haaland has five goals in six Premier League appearances versus Nottingham Forest, although 60% of those came in the Norway talisman’s first game against them in August 2022, when he netted a hat-trick from four attempts
- The division top scorer has two goals from 10 shots in his last five games against Forest
- He has 19 goals in 17 Premier League games for Manchester City this season. The only player in the competition’s history to score 20 before the end of the year in a campaign is Haaland himself (21 in 2022/23)