Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Prediction - Premier League
Manchester City, maintaining their devastating form with a run of five consecutive wins, will face a struggling Nottingham Forest side battling relegation in this dramatic match.
The next round of the Premier League will see a clash between two extremes at City Ground. Manchester City are accelerating strongly in the title race, while Nottingham Forest are struggling to avoid the relegation zone.
Match information
- Time:7:30 PM, December 27, 2025
- Location:City Ground Stadium
Context and ranking position
Manchester City currently sit firmly in second place with 37 points. Pep Guardiola's team is showing incredible consistency with a run of five consecutive wins. In contrast, Nottingham Forest are ranked 17th with 18 points, just above the relegation zone. In their last five matches, the home team has shown inconsistent form, winning two and losing three.
| Team | Location | Point | form |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manchester City | 2 | 37 | Winning all 5 of their last matches |
| Nottingham Forest | 17 | 18 | Win 2 matches, lose 3 matches |
Performance analysis and statistics
Nottingham Forest: Is home advantage enough?
This season, Nottingham Forest have played 17 matches, winning 5 (including 3 at home). Their goal-scoring performance is quite modest, averaging 1.0 goal per game, while their defense has conceded 26 goals (an average of 1.5 goals per game). Despite having home advantage, the absence of key players due to injury poses a difficult challenge for the coaching staff.
Manchester City: Devastating attacking power
The visiting team boasts one of the strongest attacks in the league with 41 goals in 17 matches, an impressive average of 2.4 goals per game. Notably, City's defense is also extremely solid, having conceded only 16 goals since the start of the season. With 12 wins already secured, City is demonstrating that they are a strong contender for the championship.
History of confrontations
In their last five encounters, Manchester City have held a dominant advantage with four wins. However, Nottingham Forest pulled off a surprise victory, beating City 1-0 at City Ground in March 2025. This suggests the home team is perfectly capable of causing problems if their opponents are complacent.
- April 27, 2025: Nottingham Forest 0 - 2 Manchester City
- March 8, 2025: Nottingham Forest 1 - 0 Manchester City
- December 5, 2024: Manchester City 3 - 0 Manchester City
- April 28, 2024: Nottingham Forest 0 - 2 Manchester City
- September 23, 2023: Manchester City 2 - 0 Manchester City
Force situation
Both teams are facing fairly long injury lists, which significantly impacts their lineup choices:
Nottingham Forest:
- O. Aina: Hamstring injury (Absent)
- W. Boly and I. Sangare: Regarding national team training (Absent)
- D. Ndoye: Injured (Absent)
- C. Wood: Knee injury (Absent)
- R. Yates: Hamstring injury (Absent)
Manchester City:
- R. Ait Nouri and O. Marmoush: Regarding national team training (Absent)
- O. Bobb: Hamstring injury (Absent)
- J. Doku: Leg injury (Absent)
- M. Kovacic: Heel injury (Absent)
- Rodri and J. Stones: Their availability is uncertain due to hamstring and thigh injuries.
Analysis and predictions
Given the clear difference in class and form, Manchester City are considered the clear favorites to win at City Ground. However, with a 45% probability of a draw, experts do not rule out the possibility that Nottingham Forest will play defensively in search of a valuable point.
Manchester City's attack is expected to continue its explosive form, while Nottingham Forest may struggle to find the back of the net without their key striker Chris Wood.
Team lineup updated at 18:53 on December 27, 2025
Official lineup
Nottingham Forest
Diagram: 4-2-3-1
CoachSean Dyche
Starting lineup:
- 13. John Victor (G)
- 37. Nicolò Savona (D)
- 31. Nikola Milenković (D)
- 5. Murillo (D)
- 3. Neco Williams (D)
- 8. Elliot Anderson (M)
- 16. Nicolás Domínguez (M)
- 21. Omari Hutchinson (M)
- 10. Morgan Gibbs-White (M)
- 7. Callum Hudson-Odoi (M)
- 19. Igor Jesus (F)
Substitutes:
- 26. Matz Sels
- 4. Morato
- 35. Oleksandr Zinchenko
- 44. Zach Abbott
- 12. Douglas Luiz
- 24. James McAtee
- 29. Dilane Bakwa
- 9. Taiwo Awoniyi
- 15. Arnaud Kalimuendo
Manchester City
Diagram: 4-3-2-1
CoachPep Guardiola
Starting lineup:
- 25. Gianluigi Donnarumma (G)
- 27. Matheus Nunes (D)
- 3. Rúben Dias (D)
- 24. Joško Gvardiol (D)
- 33. Nico O'Reilly (D)
- 20. Bernardo Silva (M)
- 14. Nico González (M)
- 4. Tijjani Reijnders (M)
- 10. Rayan Cherki (M)
- 47. Phil Foden (M)
- 9. Erling Haaland (F)
Substitutes:
- 1. James Trafford
- 6. Nathan Aké
- 45. Abdukodir Khusanov
- 82. Rico Lewis
- 16. Rodri
- 26. Savinho
- 63. Divine Mukasa
- 56. Ryan McAidoo
- 92. Reigan Heskey
