Manchester City visits the City Ground for the Match-Day 18 of the Premier League against Nottingham Forest as they eye top spot in the early kick-off fixture on Saturday, Softfootball reports.
The Cityzen continued their impressive form last weekend as the Pep Guardiola led side hammered West Ham 3-0 courtesy of an Erling Haaland brace while Nottingham won six of their previous nine games across all competitions. This sets the match up for a thrilling encounter.
Manchester City are excited about their final match of 2025 as they shared on their official X handle. See post below.
Despite how solid Manchester City are on paper, manager Pep Guardiola wants Antoine Semenyo at the club. The Ghanaian is a huge admirer of Haaland and wants to play alongside him. Reports say, Manchester City are close to signing Semenyo after Chelsea pulled out but still face competition from Manchester United and Liverpool for the player.
Head-to-Head
Manchester City are in good form, having won their last three Premier League games by a 3-0 scoreline, and they could become the first club in English top flight history to win four successive games by three or more goals, and keep clean sheets across all those matches.
On their head-to-head record against Nottingham Forest, the Citizens have won 45 as against Forests’ 34 with 28 matches ending in a draw between the two sides.
Team News
Nicolas Dominguez, Matz Sels and Taiwo Awoniyi were back for Nottingham against Fulham at Craven Cottage. Chris Wood, who continues to train individually following his knee injury is not ready to face Manchester City on Saturday.
Super Eagles of Nigeria defender, Ola Aina is also getting closer to making his return, currently training with the first team but still lacking the necessary match fitness. Ryan Yates and Dan Ndoye are both being assessed, while Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly are both on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
For Manchester City, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush representing their respective national sides while Jeremy Doku is a big doubt for Saturday, with Guardiola suggesting the player may return for the clash against Sunderland in early January. John Stones and Oscar Bobb are expected to join him on the sidelines.
Rodri continues to make his recovery from a hamstring injury, though there is no confirmation whether the Spaniard will feature. Mateo Kovacic, on the other hand, is expected to miss another three months of action.
Manchester City via their official X handle shared a video highlight of the last time they faced Nottingham Forest. Watch below.
A look back at some of our best moments at the City Ground! ⏮️ pic.twitter.com/KWWbxXxIZI
— Manchester City (@ManCity) December 26, 2025Nottingham Forest probable XI
John Victor; Williams, Murillo, Milenkovic, Savona; Douglas Luiz, Anderson; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson; Igor Jesus
Manchester City probable XI
Donnarumma; O’Reilly, Gvardiol, Dias, Nunes; Reijnders, Nico, Silva; Foden, Cherki; Haaland
Softfootball Prediction
Manchester City are flying at the moment but in the premier league if you are not prepared on the day, upsets happen and the Cityzens must be wary of the Forest team on Saturday. Nottingham 0-2 Man City.
