Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Prediction, Betting Tips & Preview

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Nottingham Forest

vs

Manchester City

KickoffSaturday 7 November 2026, 5:30pm

VenueCity Ground

CompetitionEnglish Premier League

TV ChannelSky Sports Premier League

There is a sharp contrast in the mood heading into this one. Manchester City arrive at the City Ground carrying the air of a side that knows they are better than their recent Premier League form suggests, still dealing with back-to-back league defeats but buoyed by that gritty Champions League win in midweek. Nottingham Forest, by contrast, are deep in a rut that is starting to look genuinely worrying. One win from nine Premier League games, still goalless at home all season, and a manager who has already gone public with his frustrations. The atmosphere around the City Ground this weekend will be tense, and Forest desperately need something to change.

Oliver Glasner had some strong words after the Brentford defeat, demanding full commitment or the door. That kind of ultimatum either galvanises a squad or exposes the cracks further. The City Ground crowd will be hoping for the former, but Man City are probably not the ideal opponents to test a team that is still searching for its first home goal of the season.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Match Details

This Premier League fixture takes place at the City Ground in Nottingham, one of English football’s most atmospheric old grounds. Forest sit 19th in the table heading into this one, while City arrive as second-placed side, making this as stark a top-versus-bottom clash as the Premier League can serve up at this stage of the season.

Team News

Glasner has a few selection headaches to manage, while Maresca has some decisions to make at the back and in midfield after rotating his squad for the Leipzig game.

• Nicolas Dominguez (muscle) is a doubt for Forest
• Igor Jesus (calf) is also doubtful and may not feature
• Nicolo Savona (knee) remains out with a longer term injury
• Liam Delap has gone five starts without a goal and his place up front is under threat from Chris Wood, who is still waiting for his first league start of the season
• For City, Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol are pushing to come back into the defence, potentially at the expense of Marc Guehi and Nico O’Reilly
• Jeremy Doku started from the bench against Leipzig so could come back into the XI here
• Erling Haaland leads the line as expected, fit and firing after his match-winning goal in midweek

Predicted Lineups

Glasner looks set to shuffle his defensive options, with Daniel Munoz and Ousmane Diomande both pushing for recalls. James McAtee, the former City youngster, has done enough in a deeper midfield role to hold his place, and the Delap versus Wood debate up front is the real selection dilemma. Delap’s lack of goals is a problem, but throwing Wood in from the start against City carries its own risks.

Maresca is unlikely to tear things up after a winning midweek display, but Dias and Gvardiol look set to come back into a defence that has looked shaky at times recently. Enzo Fernandez, fresh from opening his Champions League account for the club, should partner Elliot Anderson in central midfield. It will be a strange afternoon for Anderson, returning to the club where he made his name before his summer move to City.

Recent Form

Forest’s form is alarming. One win from nine Premier League games, just six goals scored across those fixtures, and a run of one point from the last 15 available. They are firing shots, registering the second highest number per game in the division at nearly 17 per match, but the conversion is simply not there. That gap between attempts and actual goals is what is dragging them towards the relegation places, and five blank home games in a row tells its own story. The 2-0 loss at Brentford, where they had 15 shots and just one on target all game, was the latest example of a team that is working hard but finding nothing at the end of it.

Manchester City are not exactly flying either, having dropped from top spot after losses to Aston Villa and Brighton. That Brighton defeat was particularly notable, City dominating possession and racking up nearly two expected goals’ worth of chances but losing 1-0 at the Etihad. It is a strange kind of poor form, one where the underlying numbers suggest they should be winning and the results keep biting them. The midweek win over Leipzig, sealed by Haaland’s 13th goal in nine games against the German club, was a timely reminder that this squad has genuine quality when it clicks.

What matters most here is the head-to-head mismatch in clinical finishing. Forest cannot score, City cannot stop conceding in the short term but carry far more threat going forward. That sets up a fixture where the visitors look the more likely side to find the net, and find it more than once.

Head-to-Head Record

Since Forest came back up to the Premier League in 2022, the two sides have met four times in the league at the City Ground, and City have won two of those, drawn one and lost one. That solitary Forest win came just two seasons ago, a 1-0 victory thanks to a Callum Hudson-Odoi effort late on, which shows this fixture is not always a walkover despite the difference in resources. The most recent league meeting ended 2-1 to City, while their last head-to-head in all competitions was a 2-2 draw at the Etihad in March, with Elliot Anderson netting a late leveller for Forest before his move to City in the summer.

Glasner himself has a poor record against City, losing four of his five league meetings with them during his time at Crystal Palace and conceding at least three goals in each of those defeats. That context does not make this preview any easier for Forest fans to read.

Key Stats

• Forest are joint-lowest scorers in the Premier League this season with just six goals from nine games, yet they average nearly 17 shots per game, second only to Manchester United
• City have conceded 14 goals across their last seven games in all competitions, suggesting a defence that is far more vulnerable than it was a year ago
• Haaland has not scored in his last four appearances against Forest, a run he will be desperate to end

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Betting Tips

The story of this game writes itself when you line up the two form guides. Forest are struggling badly to score, City are leaking goals but carrying significantly more attacking threat. The visitors should have enough to take three points, though Forest’s defensive solidity at the City Ground and City’s own recent inconsistency mean this is unlikely to be a comfortable stroll for Maresca’s side.

Correct Score Prediction

A 1-2 to City feels right here. Forest will create chances given how many shots they put up each game, and with City’s defence still shipping goals at a concerning rate there is every reason to think the hosts nick one. But City’s quality in the final third should be enough to edge it, with Haaland and company finding a way through.

Both Teams To Score (BTTS) Prediction

Yes, back both teams to score. Forest may be in a goal drought but they are generating chances, and City’s defence has conceded 14 times in seven games across all competitions. Something has to give, and the City Ground crowd will push Forest forward. City will score, but so will the hosts.

First Goalscorer Prediction

Erling Haaland is the obvious pick despite that blank run against Forest. He has 13 goals in nine games against Leipzig alone, he captained the side in midweek, and he will be hungry to end his drought against this specific opponent. City tend to get him into positions where he punishes teams, and Forest’s issues at the back give him every opportunity to do exactly that.

Over and Under Goals Prediction

Back over 2.5 goals. Forest are creating plenty even when they are not converting, and when they do get one the game tends to open up. City need to attack to get their Premier League season back on track, and 14 goals conceded in seven games across all competitions suggests there is plenty of room for a free-scoring affair here.

Bet Builder Tip

Haaland opening the scoring in a game where both sides find the net and City take the win ties together neatly with the overall shape of the preview and gives this bet builder a solid foundation.

Final Match Prediction

Forest need this badly, and Glasner’s post-Brentford ultimatum adds an extra edge to the occasion. But needing a result and having the squad to deliver one are very different things, and right now Forest do not have the firepower to feel confident against a City side that, for all their recent wobbles, still have Haaland and a squad full of Champions League class.

City should take this one, though not without a scare. Forest will get a goal, City’s defence has been generous enough to give most opponents something, but the visitors have too much quality in the final third to leave empty-handed. Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City.

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