Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest

Manchester City’s stellar 2023/24 Premier League start faces a relatively straightforward task, at least on paper, with Nottingham Forest set to arrive at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City’s Champions League title defense was off to a flying start earlier this week as they came from behind to thump Red Star Belgrade 3-1 at home in their opening Group G encounter, translating their superb domestic form to the European front. Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s high-flyers have won all five Premier League matches this season, including a come-from-behind 3-1 victory at West Ham last weekend, making a solid case for a potentially record-breaking campaign. Keen to become the first-ever side to win four consecutive Premier League titles, the ‘Citizens’ come into proceedings in the midst of an eye-catching 12-game winning league run on home soil, bookended by a 5-1 rout of Fulham on the stroke of September’s international break. Another standout success is on the cards, with Man City winning their last three home league H2Hs against Forest ‘to nil.’

On the other hand, visiting Nottingham Forest bounced back from a narrow halftime deficit in a 1-1 home draw against newly-promoted Burnley earlier this week to put an impressive seventh point on the board. Before sharing the spoils with Vincent Kompany’s side, the visitors had alternated between winning (2) and losing (2) across their opening four league outings. The last game in that stretch was a stunning 1-0 away win over Chelsea, which halted their dreadful run of 12 consecutive Premier League road trips without winning (D3, L9). Despite their massive struggle away from home, Steve Cooper’s men have been regular on the scoresheet, hitting the net on their last seven top-flight travels.