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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 24
Nottingham Forest v Manchester City
City Ground
West Bridgford, England
Saturday, 18 February 2023
Kick-off is at 17h00
Manchester City will look to ramp up the pressure on the
Premier League leaders when they clash with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Saturday, February 18.
The second-placed Citizens returned to winning ways last weekend when they beat Aston Villa 3-1 at the Etihad Stadium to close within three points of Arsenal, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford.
Pep Guardiola's side had lost 1-0 to bogey team Tottenham in their previous game and remained two points clear of neighbours Manchester United (3rd) after they claimed a 2-0 victory over Leeds last Sunday.
The gap between the top three and Newcastle (4th) stretched to five points following a third consecutive draw for the Magpies - their fifth one-point haul in six outings.
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Forest saw an impressive five-match unbeaten run come to an end with a 2-0 reverse to Fulham at Craven Cottage most recently.
Steve Cooper's team had won three of their previous five encounters to pull six points clear of the relegation zone in 14th position.
The Reds are just five points adrift of the top 10 and one behind 12th-placed Crystal Palace, although a minus-20 goal difference will be of some concern to Cooper.
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Forest have struggled for goals this season, scoring just 17 in 22 games which is the joint-second-worst record in the Premier League. They will be hoping the arrival of Chris Wood on a six-month loan deal from Newcastle last month will aid their cause, with the New Zealand international being a regular goalscorer for Burnley prior to his switch to St James' Park.
Riyad Mahrez has made important contributions to City in recent weeks, registering four goals and four assists in his last seven league appearances. The Algeria set up Rodri to open the scoring against Villa after just four minutes before converting a penalty on the stroke of half-time to seal victory.
In team news, the hosts are without a whole host of players. Giulian Biancone (knee) is sidelined for the remainder of the campaign, while Willy Boly, Scott McKenna, Cheikhou Kouyate (all thigh) and Omar Richards (calf) are all some way off making their return, although Moussa Niakhate, Dean Henderson (both thigh) and Taiwo Awoniyi groin could be back early next month.
Erling Haaland is doubtful for the visitors with a knock he picked up against the Villans, with John Stones (thigh) their only other absentee.
Cooper acknowledges the Reds weren't good enough in the first half against the Cottagers but was pleased with their response in the second 45 minutes and believes valuable lessons were learned.
"It's a disappointing result. In the first half we didn't play at the level required. It was always going to be a tough game away from home and you have to be at it from the start," he said.
"We needed to improve our performance and we did in the second half. We really took the game to Fulham and that was the idea from the start of the game, but it took us until half-time to get going.
"We needed to play with a bit more purpose, belief and intent in the first half but I feel we did do those things in the second half, and I've just said to the players the difference between the two halves was night and day but the learning is that we need to do that from the start."
Guardiola replaced Ruben Dias at half-time against Villa after the Portuguese defender picked up a booking in the 41st minute, revealing he didn't want to risk his player getting sent off.
"Ruben [was substituted] because it was a yellow card," the Spaniard said. "Of course, he was disappointed but unfortunately he got a yellow card - I don't know why but it is what it is.
"With [Ollie] Watkins and [Leon] Bailey they have good runners in behind so we decide to not take risks with the score at 3-0."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Forest - 2
Man City - 1
Draws - 2
Premier League fixtures - matchday 24:
Saturday, February 18
13h30: Aston Villa v Arsenal
16h00: Brentford v Crystal Palace
16h00: Brighton & Hove Albion v Fulham
16h00: Chelsea v Southampton
16h00: Everton v Leeds United
16h00: Nottingham Forest v Manchester City
16h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Bournemouth
18h30: Newcastle United v Liverpool
Sunday, February 19
15h00: Manchester United v Leicester City
17h30: Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
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