bitter and blue 
26-04-2024 23:57
26-04-2024 23:57
Nottingham Forest v Manchester City: The Opposition
There’s no rest for Manchester City as they face their third game in eight days, this time travelling to the Midlands to take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground. The blues stormed past a potential banana skin on Thursday night as they swept Brighton aside, thanks to goals from Kevin de Bruyne, Julian Alvarez and a brace from golden boy, Phil Foden.
City moved to with one point of leaders Arsenal and two clear of Liverpool and still have a game in hand. Forest are fighting for their Premier League survival and a win for them could relegate bottom-club Sheffield United, while victory for City, together with an unlikely win for the Blades at Newcastle, can prolong the relegation for another week.
Forest will no doubt still be reeling from the VAR controversy of last weekend’s encounter with Everton and will be hoping that VAR will be on their side against City this weekend.
Form
After surviving relegation last season, Forest are once again deep in trouble and looking for a miracle. They have won just two of their 14 Premier League matches since the turn of the year and have lost two of their last three matches.
Overall, Forest have won just seven matches this season in the Premier League, with five of those coming at home. However, they have lost seven at the City Ground, scoring and conceding 25, and are the only relegation-threatened side not to have a negative goal difference.
Their last home win was a vital 3-1 victory over Fulham at the beginning of the month, while their last defeat at the City Ground was a 1-0 loss to Liverpool. Forest have kept just two clean sheets at home this season, the first coming in November with a 2-0 win over Villa, with the second being a 2-0 win over West Ham in February. They have also failed to score three times at home in the Premier League.
Danger Men
Chris Wood is leading the Forest charge and his 13 goals seem to be single-handedly keeping Forest going. He has a shot accuracy of 68% and a goal conversion rate of 38%. His last goal came in a 3-1 defeat at Spurs, with his previous home strike coming in a 3-1 win over Fulham at the beginning of the month.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi have six each, while Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring five apiece. Former Chelsea man Hudson-Odoi has the better shot accuracy of Forest’s top six with 71%. Spare a thought for Andrew Omobamidele. The Republic of Ireland defender has played 13 games and had one shot on target, which he scored, giving him a shot accuracy of 100%, the only one in the Forest side get such a rating.
Anthony Elanga may have the most assist in the side with eight, but he is probably the second-most dangerous from midfield. The former United man has only created 25 chances, but his teammate, Morgan Gibbs-White is the one running Forest’s midfield. Gibbs-White has created 70 chances, almost three times as many as Elanga, seven of which have been taken. He has attempted 1,343 passes, converting 1,048 and has a pass accuracy of 78%.
The Boss
Former Wolves and Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo is the man tasked with keeping Forest in the Premier League. The Portuguese boss replaced Steve Cooper in December 2023, but has so far struggled to make an impression at the City Ground. From the 22 matches Nuno has presided over, his side have won just five and lost ten to date, giving him a disappointing win ratio of just 23%.
Last Time Out
City recorded a comfortable win the last time these two met in September. Phil Foden and Erling Haaland put City 2-0 up after just 14 minutes, but the expected goal rush didn’t follow and the Blues didn’t add to their tally.
In February 2023, Bernardo put City in front at the City Ground just before half-time, but Wood levelled six minutes from time to share the points.
City moved to with one point of leaders Arsenal and two clear of Liverpool and still have a game in hand. Forest are fighting for their Premier League survival and a win for them could relegate bottom-club Sheffield United, while victory for City, together with an unlikely win for the Blades at Newcastle, can prolong the relegation for another week.
Forest will no doubt still be reeling from the VAR controversy of last weekend’s encounter with Everton and will be hoping that VAR will be on their side against City this weekend.
Form
After surviving relegation last season, Forest are once again deep in trouble and looking for a miracle. They have won just two of their 14 Premier League matches since the turn of the year and have lost two of their last three matches.
Overall, Forest have won just seven matches this season in the Premier League, with five of those coming at home. However, they have lost seven at the City Ground, scoring and conceding 25, and are the only relegation-threatened side not to have a negative goal difference.
Their last home win was a vital 3-1 victory over Fulham at the beginning of the month, while their last defeat at the City Ground was a 1-0 loss to Liverpool. Forest have kept just two clean sheets at home this season, the first coming in November with a 2-0 win over Villa, with the second being a 2-0 win over West Ham in February. They have also failed to score three times at home in the Premier League.
Danger Men
Chris Wood is leading the Forest charge and his 13 goals seem to be single-handedly keeping Forest going. He has a shot accuracy of 68% and a goal conversion rate of 38%. His last goal came in a 3-1 defeat at Spurs, with his previous home strike coming in a 3-1 win over Fulham at the beginning of the month.
Morgan Gibbs-White and Taiwo Awoniyi have six each, while Anthony Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring five apiece. Former Chelsea man Hudson-Odoi has the better shot accuracy of Forest’s top six with 71%. Spare a thought for Andrew Omobamidele. The Republic of Ireland defender has played 13 games and had one shot on target, which he scored, giving him a shot accuracy of 100%, the only one in the Forest side get such a rating.
Anthony Elanga may have the most assist in the side with eight, but he is probably the second-most dangerous from midfield. The former United man has only created 25 chances, but his teammate, Morgan Gibbs-White is the one running Forest’s midfield. Gibbs-White has created 70 chances, almost three times as many as Elanga, seven of which have been taken. He has attempted 1,343 passes, converting 1,048 and has a pass accuracy of 78%.
The Boss
Former Wolves and Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo is the man tasked with keeping Forest in the Premier League. The Portuguese boss replaced Steve Cooper in December 2023, but has so far struggled to make an impression at the City Ground. From the 22 matches Nuno has presided over, his side have won just five and lost ten to date, giving him a disappointing win ratio of just 23%.
Last Time Out
City recorded a comfortable win the last time these two met in September. Phil Foden and Erling Haaland put City 2-0 up after just 14 minutes, but the expected goal rush didn’t follow and the Blues didn’t add to their tally.
In February 2023, Bernardo put City in front at the City Ground just before half-time, but Wood levelled six minutes from time to share the points.