Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City: Premier League match preview, score prediction and potential lineups

Manchester City travel to the City Ground on Saturday, December 27, 2025, for a 12:30 GMT kick-off against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Pep Guardiola’s side are in red-hot form and aiming to leapfrog Arsenal at the top of the table, while Sean Dyche’s Forest battle to pull clear of the relegation zone.

Current Form and League Positions

Manchester City sit second in the Premier League standings, trailing leaders Arsenal by just two points. The Citizens have won their last seven matches across all competitions, including three consecutive 3-0 Premier League victories. Erling Haaland has been unstoppable, contributing heavily to City’s league-leading goal tally.

Nottingham Forest occupy 17th place, five points above the drop zone. Under Dyche—who took over in October 2025—the Tricky Trees have shown resilience at home but remain inconsistent, with recent results including a 1-0 loss at Fulham.

City have dominated recent encounters, winning five of the last seven league meetings. However, Forest claimed a memorable 1-0 victory in the corresponding fixture last season—their first league win over City since 1995. The sides also met in the 2025 FA Cup semi-final, where City won 2-0.

Team News and Potential Lineups

Nottingham Forest

Forest are dealing with several absences, including AFCON call-ups for Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly. Ola Aina, Ryan Yates, and Chris Wood remain sidelined with ongoing issues.

Predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): John Victor; Nicolo Savona, Nicolo Milellovic, Murillo, Neco Williams; Douglas Luiz, Elliot Anderson; AMMARI hutchinson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Callum Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus.

Key players: Morgan Gibbs-White will orchestrate attacks, while Callum Hudson-Odoi and Igor Jesus provide threat on the counter.

Manchester City

City are without Rodri, Mateo Kovacic, Jeremy Doku, Oscar Bobb, and John Stones due to injury. Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri are away at the Africa Cup of Nations.

Predicted lineup (4-3-2-1): Gianluigy Donnarumma; Matheus Nunes, Rebel, Gardon, Nico O’Reilly; Bernard Silva, Nico Gonzalez, Tijjani Reijders; Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden; Erling Haaland.

Key players: Haaland leads the scoring charts with 19 goals, supported by the creative duo of Cherki and Foden.

Score Prediction

Manchester City’s blistering form, defensive solidity (four clean sheets in five), and attacking firepower make them strong favorites. Forest’s home resilience could make it competitive, but City’s quality should shine through.

Predicted score: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City