In-form Manchester United could temporarily jump into the Premier League’s top two with victory at Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
The Red Devils are brimming with confidence for the first time under Ruben Amorim having beaten Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton & Hove Albion on the spin. Despite a late scare against the Seagulls last weekend, United marched to a 4–2 victory courtesy of their reinvented forward line.
United’s purple patch has seen them rise to sixth in the Premier League table—ahead of both Liverpool and Chelsea—but Amorim will be warning against complacency given his side’s track record against Forest.
Amorim lost both meetings with Forest last season and is facing Sean Dyche in the dugout, who is certain to prioritise a defensive approach against the Red Devils.
The former Burnley and Everton manager has overseen just two matches in charge of the Midlands side, beginning with a 2–0 victory against Porto in the Europa League before falling to defeat at Bournemouth by the same scoreline. Forest, who are on their third manager of the season already, remain an unpredictable entity.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to a crunch clash.
Nottingham Forest vs. Man Utd Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (All Competitions)
Nottingham Forest
Man Utd
Bournemouth 2–0 Nottingham Forest – 26/10/25
Man Utd 4–2 Brighton – 25/10/25
Nottingham Forest 2–0 Porto – 23/10/25
Liverpool 1–2 Man Utd – 19/10/25
Nottingham Forest 0–3 Chelsea – 18/10/25
Man Utd 2–0 Sunderland – 04/10/25
Newcastle 2–0 Nottingham Forest – 05/10/25
Brentford 3–1 Man Utd – 27/09/25
Nottingham Forest 2–3 Midtjylland – 02/10/25
Man Utd 2–1 Chelsea – 20/09/25
Country
TV channel/live stream
United States
fuboTV, Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, UNIVERSO
United Kingdom
Not televised – audio coverage available on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Nottingham, BBC Radio Manchester and talkSPORT
Canada
DAZN, Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Fubo Sports Network
Mexico
Caliente TV, Amazon Prime Video
Chris Wood is absent once more. / Clive Mason/Getty Images
Forest will have to continue without last season’s top scorer Chris Wood, who is still absent with a knee injury. Dyche can choose between Igor Jesus and Taiwo Awoniyi as replacements for the New Zealand international.
Oleksandr Zinchenko and Ola Aina are absent in the full back department, while back-up goalkeeper Angus Gunn and summer recruit Dilane Bakwa are also missing through injury.
Forest had an empty midweek which should help Dyche select a well-rested XI for United’s trip and he may use the same team as the one beaten at the Vitality Stadium as he tries to establish come consistency.
Dyche will be without Chris Wood again. / FotMob.
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs. Man Utd (4-2-3-1): Sels; Savona, Milenković, Murillo, Williams; Luiz, Anderson; Ndoye, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus.
Lisandro Martínez is back in training. / Robbie Jay Barratt-AMA/Getty Images
United have an almost entirely clean bill of health ahead of Saturday’s clash, with long-term absentee Lisandro Martínez even returning to first-team training. The centre back has been missing since February after tearing his ACL and is a welcome sight at Carrington, although Amorim has confirmed he’s not available for the Forest duel.
United’s only other injury concern also comes in defence, with Anfield hero Harry Maguire a major doubt for the game. Amorim admitted he’s uncertain whether the England international will feature at the City Ground.
But Amorim is unlikely to change anything from the team that beat Brighton, with the in-form Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha leading the attack alongside Benjamin Šeško. Casemiro, who scored and assisted last weekend, will partner Bruno Fernandes in midfield, with an unchanged back five starting ahead of Senne Lammens.
United have few injury issues ahead of Saturday’s game. / FotMob
Man Utd predicted lineup vs. Nottingham Forest (3-4-2-1): Lammens; Yoro, De Ligt, Shaw; Amad, Casemiro, Fernandes, Dalot; Mbeumo, Cunha; Šeško.
United have turned their fortunes around pretty swiftly in recent weeks and while it remains to be seen whether their progress is a short-term fix or long-term remedy, morale will be sky high for the trip to the Midlands on Saturday afternoon.
The Red Devils are clicking in the final third as their summer signings make a significant impact, and Forest’s leaky defence will be hard-pushed to thwart Mbeumo, Cunha and Šeško, especially with Fernandes pulling the strings in a deeper position.
However, Forest have home advantage and will be aware that United have kept just one clean sheet this season, showing their continued defensive vulnerabilities late in the Brighton clash. Dyche’s men should get on the scoresheet at the very least.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1–2 Man Utd
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