Manchester City travel to Nottingham Forest looking for another three points to inch closer to yet another Premier League title victory.
Date: 28/04/24
Kick-off time: 16:30
Venue: City Ground
It is a huge game at both ends of the table, with Man City fighting for Premier League glory, and Nottingham Forest battling to remain in the top flight. Pep Guardiola’s men have dropped to third following a weekend in which they were playing in the FA Cup. Both Arsenal and Liverpool won, handing the pressure back to City to regain their lead. A victory against Forest would do just that, and it would leave them four games away from a fourth consecutive Premier League title. Any dropped points would hand the initiative back to their rivals once more with so little left to play.
Forest are 17th, and in desperate need of three points to prevent them from falling into the bottom three. They are only one point clear of 18th place Luton, and have not been helped by a points deduction. An unlikely win against City would give them some much needed breathing room, but defeat could see them drop into the relegation zone and into a very precarious position.
The hosts have not kept a clean sheet since the middle of February, and it is likely this streak will continue with one of the league’s most potent attacks their next opponents. In their last three league games, City have netted 13 times, and don’t look like slowing down in their relentless pursuit of the title. As expected, Erling Haaland tops the Premier League scoring charts with 20 goals, so he will be the one to look out for. If Forest are to threaten, this will most likely come from Chris Wood, who has found the back of the net 12 times this season.
Since Forest’s promotion back to the Premier League in 2022, the two sides have met three times in the top flight. CIty have the better record, as expected, but the one fixture at the City Ground ended in a draw last season. On that day, Bernardo Silva gave the visitors a first half lead, but this was cancelled out by Wood late on. The reverse fixture earlier this season ended in a 2-0 victory for City, as Phil Foden and Haaland scored two early goals.