England Premier League
Saturday 18th February 2023
Kick off at 3pm GMT
Venue: City Ground
Match Preview:
Nottingham Forest will not only be looking to create one of the shocks of the season but also would blow the title wide open once again if they can beat Manchester City.
Forest despite being at home will be the huge underdogs but up until last week Steve Cooper’s side had found their best form of the season and as a result had climbed up the table. Forest of course were one of the favourite teams to go straight back down however after 22 games they have 24 points and are in 14th place and are 6 points from the bottom three. They could still get sucked into a relegation fight but for now that doesn’t seem to be the case. Last weekend however Forest’s good run came to an end as they lost 2-0 away to Fulham. But it will be home form that keeps the club up and so far they have won 18 points from 33 and the majority of their games here have ended in wins with 5 so far from 11. We would have to go back to October for Forest’s last home loss and they have won their last two games here after beating Leicester and Leeds.
Manchester City are back in 1st place in the Premier League after a huge tussle with Arsenal that has lasted most of the season and again came to the forefront when the two clubs met in midweek. Arsenal were undefeated at the Emirates and this was quite a clash for the ages but City came out 3-1 winners and one has to wonder if they will go on one of their great runs? Perhaps what was so frightening about City was that Arsenal did not allow them to play their usual passing and possession game and yet they found a plan B and put 3 goals past the Gunners.
City of course are only top on goal difference and Arsenal have a game in hand so they need to keep on winning games and we still have 15 games to play. It’s 4 wins from their last 5 though and Pep Guardiola’s side are scoring goals again with six in their last two games. So is Erling Haaland who went a few games without a goal which seems unnatural to see but he scored a cracking goal against Arsenal and now has an incredible 26 so far. Haaland needs just one more goal to become City’s all time leading goalscorer for a domestic league season.
On the road City have 20 points from 33 and they have lost 2 of their last three however one was the Manchester derby which is never easy and one was against Tottenham a side they simply do not know how to beat at least away from home.
Team News:
Nottingham Forest: Dean Henderson was due back but has received a set back and is out for a further two weeks with his thigh injury. Jesse Lingard is only 50/50 to make this game and remains a doubt, Scott McKenna has been ruled out for between 6-7 weeks with a hamstring injury. Ryan Yates won’t make this game due to a lack of match fitness. Willy Boly has been ruled out for the season due to a hamstring injury. Moussa Niakhate and Chiekhou Kouyate are both out until next month at the earliest.
Manchester City: Currently the club has no new injuries and only John Stones remains out due to his hamstring, he is due back next week.
Nottm Forest vs Man City Head to Head:
The clubs haven’t played at Nottingham Forest since 2001 when the game ended 1-1.
Earlier in the season in the reverse game Manchester City won 6-0.
In the last six meetings Manchester City has just one win.
Nottm Forest vs Man City Prediction:
It’s really hard not to see Manchester City walk away with this one however we have seen how lacklustre at times the champions can be and they have had some surprise defeats this season already. But surely the momentum has swung into City’s favour again after the victory over Arsenal and we expect City to ease to a win here.
They were able to put 6 goals past Forest earlier in the season where Erling Haaland scored a 26 minute first half hat trick and while we expect Forest to put up more of a fight in the end they should get outclassed. Backing City isn’t really on the cards due to their odds on price so it’s different markets to try and find the value.
Nottm Forest vs Man City Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (-1 Man City) at 1.50
Erling Haaland to score at 1.71
Both teams to score at 2.10
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