A red-hot Manchester City are making the trip south to the East Midlands on Saturday afternoon to take on Nottingham Forest in their final test of the calendar year.
What began to look like a runaway for Arsenal atop the Premier League standings is now anything-but thanks to the City’s return to strength. Pep Guardiola’s side have strung together five consecutive league victories to climb their way back into second place, just two points off the league-leaders.
Amid the scintillating streak, City also punched their tickets to the Carabao Cup semifinals and secured three points against Real Madrid in the Champions League. The club’s attention now turns to Nottingham Forest, the only remaining opponent for the former English champions to face in 2025.
Sean Dyche’s men sit just above the relegation zone and are coming off a disappointing 1–0 defeat to Fulham. The Tricky Trees would love nothing more than to bounce back with a result against the Cityzens—especially since they eliminated Forest in the 2024–25 FA Cup semifinals—but City’s recent swagger presents a likely insurmountable challenge for the 17th-place side.
Here is Sports Illustrated’s guide to the Premier League clash.
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Nottingham Forest vs. Man City Head-to-Head Record (Last Five Games)
Current Form (All Competitions)
Nottingham Forest
Man City
Fulham 1–0 Nottingham Forest – 22/12/25
Man City 3–0 West Ham – 20/12/25
Nottingham Forest 3–0 Tottenham – 14/12/25
Man City 2–0 Brentford – 17/12/25
FC Utrecht 1–2 Nottingham Forest – 11/12/25
Crystal Palace 0–3 Man City – 14/12/25
Everton 3–0 Nottingham Forest – 6/12/25
Real Madrid 1–2 Man City – 10/12/25
Wolves 0–1 Nottingham Forest – 3/12/25
Man City 3–0 Sunderland – 6/12/25
Country
TV Channel/Live Stream
United Kingdom
TNT Sports One, TNT Sports Ultimate
United States
USA Network, NBC Sports App, Sling TV
Canada
DAZN Canada, fuboTV Canada
Mexico
FOX One
Ibrahim Sangaré is competing at the AFCON. / Paul Bonser/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images
Nottingham Forest are still missing last season’s top scorer Chris Wood, who suffered a knee injury back in October. There is no timetable for the striker’s return, leaving Igor Jesus as the team’s No. 9 for the foreseeable future.
Dyche also must compensate for Ibrahim Sangaré while the 28-year-old—along with fellow countryman Willy Boly— remains with the Ivory Coast national team at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. Douglas Luiz is once again expected to get the nod alongside Elliot Anderson in the midfield.
The biggest decision, though, comes between the posts. Matz Sels is back from injury and the favourite to start despite John Victor’s impressive performances in his absence. Ola Aina and Ryan Yates, meanwhile, are still not fit enough for action.
Sean Dyche has a decision to make between the posts. / FotMob
Nottingham Forest predicted lineup vs. Man City (4-2-3-1): Sels; Savona, Milenković, Murillo, Williams; Luiz, Anderson; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Jesus.
Omar Marmoush is starring for Egypt at the AFCON. / Shaun Brooks/CameraSport/Getty Images
Guardiola will once again be unable to call on Omar Marmoush and Rayan Aït-Nouri for Saturday’s clash. The two players are representing Egypt and Algeria respectively at the AFCON.
The injured Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovačić, Rodri and Jérémy Doku are all set to end the year in the infirmary, leaving the door open for Nico González, Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki to retain their places in Man City’s XI.
John Stones’s status remains somewhat of a mystery. The defender has been sidelined for nearly the entire month with a thigh injury, but there is optimism surrounding his recovery. The England international faces a late fitness test for his team’s trip to the City Ground.
Man City’s attack is firing on all cylinders. / FotMob
Man City predicted lineup vs. Nottingham Forest (4-1-4-1): Donnrumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico; Silva, Cherki, Foden, Reijnders; Haaland.
At their current form, Man City are primed to waltz into the City Ground and comfortably leave with three points as a belated Christmas present. The Cityzens have scored 18 goals in December alone, and Forest simply do not have the quality to silence Haaland and his supporting cast.
The hosts will be lucky to score. Guardiola’s men have conceded just one goal in their last five matches, racking up clean sheets against Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Brentford and West Ham.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1–3 Man City
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