Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester United Prediction & Betting Tips

Wednesday night's clash between Nottingham Forest and Manchester United in the FA Cup 5th round promises to be a compelling encounter, pitting a struggling Premier League side against one of England's traditional powerhouses.

Date: 27/02/2024

Kick-off time: 19:45

Location: The City Ground


Currently sitting in 16th place in the Premier League table, Nottingham Forest have endured a difficult season marked by underwhelming performances and managerial changes. Despite significant investment in the squad over the past two seasons, results on the pitch have failed to meet expectations. As a result, manager and fan-favourite Steve Cooper was relieved of his duties at the club back in December which led to the immediate appointment of Nuno Espírito Santo, but the Portuguese tactician is yet to instil a significant turnaround in the team's fortunes.

Additionally, off-field troubles loom large for Forest, with the threat of a points deduction looming over allegations of breaching financial regulations. This adds further pressure to their already precarious situation and will no doubt be affecting matters on the pitch. The club are aiming to reach the FA Cup quarter-final for the second time in three seasons, a feat that was managed only once in 30 attempts prior to the 2021-22 season.

Conversely, Manchester United find themselves in 6th place in the Premier League, perpetually striving to reclaim their status as title contenders. However, it has been another disappointing campaign for the Red Devils, characterised by inconsistency and a lack of cohesion on the pitch, which is raising persistent managerial questions regarding the team’s struggles to find a clear identity or playing style under their current leadership.

Despite their struggles as a collective, Manchester United have seen bright spots in individual performances. The emergence of academy talents like Kobbie Mainoo and the resurgence of established players like Harry Maguire have provided some positives in an otherwise challenging season. However, these individual contributions have not been enough to lift the team to the heights expected of a club of United's stature.

In terms of FA Cup pedigree, Manchester United boast an illustrious history, having lifted the trophy 12 times, making them the second most successful club in the competition's history. However, their last triumph came in the 2015-16 season, and they fell short in the final last season, losing to cross-town rivals Manchester City.

Nottingham Forest Team News:

Forest's absentee list is shrinking as they come into this game without only Ola Aina, Chris Wood,
Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly.

Manager Nuno Santo is likely to make a change or two after Forest's resounding defeat at Villa last time out with Andrew Omobamidele, Harry Toffolo and Divock Origi all knocking on the door for a place in the starting lineup.

Manchester United Team News:

Erik ten Hag has some notable absentees to contend with as Luke Shaw remains out for the majority of the rest of the season, while Rasmus Højlund, Lisandro Martínez, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Mason Mount all continue to miss out.

Ten Hag doesn't have a tonne of options in terms of changes but Christian Eriksen, Scott McTominay and Antony are all likely to push for a place in the starting lineup.

Nottingham Forest’s form has taken a real nosedive after a promising start to Nuno’s reign as they come into this game with just one win in their last five league games, drawing one and losing three of their last four.

Their latest outing saw them fall to a 4-2 defeat away at Aston Villa in a game that saw them trail 3-0 after just 39 minutes thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins and Douglas Luiz (X2). Forest did well to fight back and drag the scoreline back to 3-2 courtesy of goals from Moussa Niakhaté and Morgan Gibbs-White, but a Leon Bailey goal just after the hour mark put the game out of reach for Forest.

In the run-up to their defeat to the Villans, Forest had beaten West Ham 2-0 after a 3-2 home loss to Newcastle United. Nuno's men scraped through to the FIfth Round of the FA Cup via penalties after a 1-1 draw in a replay with Bristol City at the City Ground having served up a drab 0-0 stalemate at Ashton Gate.

United managed to progress past Newport County via a 4-2 scoreline at Rodney Parade in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup as part of a five-game winning run that saw them beat the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-3, West Ham United 3-0, Aston Villa 2-1 and Luton Town 2-1. However, on Saturday, the Red Devils seemed to undo all of their hard work as Alexander Iwobi slotted in a 97th-minute winner for Fulham to deal a major blow to the Red Devil's top-four hopes.

The FA Cup will present United with an opportunity to end the season on a high, however, there is the chance that they'd have to beat one of or both Liverpool and Manchester City should they progress past Forest on Wednesday night.

This is a relatively tough one to call and we expect a very competitive encounter with extra time very much on the cards. However, so often have Erik ten Hag's side found a win to get results amidst poor performances and during periods of poor form, so with both sides coming off poor performances it feels as though United are the more reliable side when it comes to getting results when not at their best. Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester United (AET).

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Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester United will be live on BBC One and online on BBC iPlayer for U.K. viewers. Radio coverage will also be provided on BBC Radio Nottingham and BBC Radio Manchester.

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