Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest preview, prediction, team news and head-to-head

• Both teams to score

• Over 2.5 goals

• Manchester City to win

Manchester City will hope to close the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal as they host Nottingham Forest on Wednesday.

Pep Guardiola’s side have won five of their last six in the league, but need the Gunners to slip up if they are to close the gap at all. They have failed to do so after beating Leeds, Newcastle and Fulham in recent weeks.

Now boasting six straight victories in all tournaments – and four from their most recent four Premier League clashes – the Sky Blues remain five points behind leaders Arsenal in the Premier League table. However, they still boast a game in hand on the Gunners.

Furthermore, Wednesdays have traditionally been wonderful for Guardiola in the Premier League. He has won 24 of the 26 English top-flight home matches he has taken charge of on that particular day, averaging a stunning 2.85 points per match.

In fact, to say the odds are stacked heavily in Man City's favour this week would be an understatement, especially as Nottingham Forest's record-breaking fourth manager of the season – Vitor Pereira – is yet to inspire a domestic turnaround.

While Forest have improved slightly under the guidance of Vitor Pereira, who replaced Sean Dyche last month, they remain without a win in the league since his appointment.

Manchester City have won four of their last five Premier League matches against Nottingham Forest (L1), winning 2-1 earlier this season at the City Ground.

Since returning to the Premier League in 2022-23, Nottingham Forest have lost all three of their away Premier League games against Man City without scoring, conceding 11 times. They are winless in eight away top-flight visits (D3 L5) since a 3-0 win in November 1989.

In fact, Nottingham Forest’s three Premier League games at the Etihad have been lost by an aggregate score of 11-0. It’s one of three instances a side has failed to score while shipping 10+ goals at a stadium in the competition, along with Birmingham City at Old Trafford (0 goals, 17 conceded) and Bradford City at Old Trafford (0 goals, 10 conceded).

Man City fans are waiting with bated breath to hear the latest on Haaland's condition. Guardiola has confirmed that the Norwegian's issue is not a knee problem and is thought to be minor, but his status for Wednesday is still up in the air.

Nico O’Reilly is also a doubt as he looks to shake off a knock to his ankle, but Max Alleyne is expected to make the squad having returned to first-team training last week. Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic remain long-term absentees.

In the opposite dugout, shot-stopper Stefan Ortega is nearing a return from his lower-leg injury but Pereira has confirmed he will be unavailable to face his former club. Chris Wood is also sidelined with a knee injury, expected to keep him away from the action until April.

Goalkeeper John Victor and Nicolo Savona are both due out until the summer, while Willy Boly is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury.

Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Gonzalez; Cherki, Reijnders, Foden, Semenyo; Marmoush

Nottingham Forest: Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams; Sangare, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus

While Haaland and O'Reilly – two of Man City's chief goal threats at present – might be absent, Guardiola still possesses plenty of capable goalscorers who can deputise for the duo.

Facing a jaded Forest side whose display at Brighton left a lot to be desired, the Sky Blues should pass this test with flying colours to keep Arsenal on their toes.

Correct score prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Nottingham Forest