Overview
Nottingham Forest entered this match with a series of 6 wins in the last 9 matches in all competitions, notably the goal that crushed Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 two weeks ago.
However, coach Sean Dyche and his team failed to take advantage of that boost when they showed a lackluster performance and lost 0-1 away to Fulham. This result left Forest only one place above the bottom three teams.
Forest will cling to the City Ground, where they have won four of their last six games. Since Dyche's arrival, the team has only lost one home game - enough for fans to believe in a comeback against the defending champions.
There is reason to wait, as Man City's most recent trip to City Ground ended with a historic 1-0 win for Forest - the first time they have beaten The Citizens in the tournament since 1995. Forest now have the opportunity to beat Man City in two consecutive Premier League matches for the first time in 30 years. If they can do it, they will create an 8-point gap compared to the bottom three teams before the series of matches later.
On the other side, Man City attracted attention this week when Pep Guardiola announced that he would weigh the players before the away trip to Nottingham, and warned that he could remove the names of those who have gained too much weight after Christmas. The message is very clear - City do not want to lose any advantage in the championship race.
That determination was supported by explosive form. December saw City win 7 consecutive matches in all competitions. In the Premier League alone, they have won all 3 recent matches with the same score of 3-0. If they continue to maintain their form, The Citizens could become the first team in Premier League history to win four consecutive games by a margin of three goals or more, while keeping a clean sheet in all four.
Guardiola's side have also conceded just one goal in their last five games. That was the only goal conceded in the 2-1 win over Real Madrid in the Champions League earlier this month.
An impressive winning streak - including 5 consecutive wins in the tournament - has left Man City only 2 points behind Arsenal. That means if they win all 3 points at Nottingham, City will climb to the top, at least until Arsenal meet Brighton.
Man City have a habit of surpassing Arsenal in the second half of the season. And if they end the calendar year in first place, they can completely reignite the uncomfortable memories of their London opponent.
Personnel situation
Nottingham Forest received a series of positive signals about the force when Nicolas Dominguez, Matz Sels and Taiwo awoniyi returned to the registration list for the loss to Fulham at Craven Cottage.
However, the match came too early for Chris Wood. The striker still has to practice separately while recovering from a knee injury. Ola Aina has also trained with the first team, but is not yet fit enough to play.
Meanwhile, Ryan Yates and Dan Ndoye are being assessed before the match. Sangare and Will Boly are absent due to international duties at the African Cup.
Man City are also affected similarly as Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush are playing in Morocco for their national team.
Regarding personnel ready to play, Jeremy Doku is almost certain to miss the upcoming match. Pep Guardiola said the player could return for the match against Sunderland in early January. John Stones and Oscar Bobb are also not expected to attend.
Rodri is still recovering from a hamstring injury and there is currently no clear confirmation of his ability to play. Meanwhile, Mateo Kovacic is expected to be out for about 3 more months.
Expected lineup:
Nottingham Forest: John Victor, Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Savona, Douglas Luiz, Anderson, Hudson- Odoi, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson, Igor Jesus.
Man City: Donnarumma, O'Reilly, Gvardiol, Dias, Nunes, Reijnders, Nico, Silva, Foden, Cherki, Haaland.
The match between Nottingham Forest and Man City takes place at 19:30 on December 27 (Vietnam time).
