Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City

Third-place Nottingham Forest and fourth-place Manchester City, two Premier League clubs fighting for a top-four finish, square off at the City Ground on Saturday lunchtime.

After winning the rematch with the Tricky Trees 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium in early December, the Citizens are hoping to accomplish the double against them for the second straight season.

Even the most devoted Nottingham Forest fans could not have predicted that their team would be competing for a top-four finish this season and only one game away from Wembley in the FA Cup after trying to avoid relegation the previous season.

Nottingham Forest has relied on penalty shootouts to advance past both Exeter City and Ipswich Town in the FA Cup’s fourth and fifth rounds. Their latest victory came on Monday night when they edged out Ipswich 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw following 120 minutes of play at the City Ground.

Next up, Forest will face Brighton & Hove Albion in the quarter-finals. However, since their emphatic 7-0 triumph over the Seagulls in the Premier League on February 1, Nuno Espirito Santo’s squad has struggled for consistency, earning just a single point from their last three league matches.

They suffered consecutive defeats against Fulham (2-1) and Newcastle United (4-3) before managing a goalless draw at home against Arsenal just over a week ago. Although they still occupy third place in the standings, the competition is heating up, with only six points separating them from 10th place as the season enters its final 11 matches.

Securing a much-needed victory this Saturday will be no easy task for Forest, as they have failed to win any of their last nine league meetings with Manchester City (D2 L7). Their last success against City dates back to December 1997, when they claimed a 3-2 win at Maine Road in the second tier.

Man City fought back from behind to defeat Plymouth Argyle 3-1 in the fifth round of the FA Cup last weekend, avoiding a shocking FA Cup elimination at the Etihad Stadium three days after securing a narrow 1-0 victory against Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.

In order to assist the Citizens secure a quarterfinal matchup at Bournemouth later this month and maintain their ambitions of taking home a trophy, Kevin De Bruyne was on the scoresheet after setting up Nico O'Reilly's strikes either side of halftime.

Manchester City's upcoming visit to the City Ground marks their eighth Premier League match since the start of November in which they begin the day positioned in the top four. During this period, they have managed to secure just one point from their previous seven games, conceding at least two goals in each of those matches and allowing a total of 19 goals.

Despite this recent struggle, only Liverpool (22 points) and Arsenal (18 points) have earned more Premier League points in 2025 than Manchester City, who have accumulated 16 points (W5, D1, L2). Additionally, no team has scored more goals in the top flight this calendar year than City, who have netted 21 times—tying them with Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola's side can approach Saturday's fixture with confidence, as they have won their last three Premier League encounters against Nottingham Forest by a combined score of 7-0. A victory this weekend would mark the first time City have secured four consecutive top-flight wins against Forest, a feat they have never achieved before.