Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Nottingham Forest versus Manchester City will be a fascinating contest in the FA Cup, as these two sides have been closely matched in the Premier League this season, with Forest sitting fourth in the table on 60 points after 33 games, just one point behind City with a game in hand.

Prior to their recent 1-0 defeat at Forest, City had won all of the last three head-to-head meetings, scoring two goals or more while not conceding a single goal.

Pep Guardiola’s men are in solid form, as they have won four and drawn one of their last five matches. Nottingham Forest have started to feel the heat of the race for Champions League football of late, as before their 2-1 win at Tottenham Hotspur, they had suffered back-to-back defeats to Everton and Aston Villa.

The Both Teams to Score market has landed in each of Forest’s last three matches, a theme that we expect to continue here, with City coming out as slender victors at Wembley Stadium.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City

On Sunday afternoon, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City goes head-to-head in what is expected to be a closely-fought contest in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Date: 27/04/2025

Location: Wembley Stadium

Time: 4:30pm

This will be the third time that these two sides have faced off this season, with Nottingham Forest winning the most recent encounter on 8th March, as Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the only goal of the game at the City Ground.

When these two sides went head-to-head at the Etihad Stadium back on 4th December, City earned a solid 3-0 victory as Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku all got on the scoresheet.

Forest are having a sensational campaign, as they are in the running for Champions League football as they sit fourth in the table with 60 points from 33 matches, meaning that they sit three points clear of the likes of sixth-place Chelsea and seventh-place Aston Villa, while playing one game fewer than the latter mentioned side.

Nuno Espírito Santo will be hoping to lead Forest to their first FA Cup triumph since the 1958/59 season. This was the only cup competition that eluded legendary manager Brian Clough, who lead them to their last FA Cup final back in 1990/91.

In order to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup, Forest managed to progress past the likes of Luton Town (2-0), before managing penalty shootout victories over Exeter City, Ipswich Town and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Manchester City’s sole hope of avoiding a trophyless season relies upon winning this competition for an eighth-time. The Cityzens have reach both of the last two FA Cup finals, winning one and losing one to fierce rivals Manchester United. City have managed to beat Salford City (8-0), Leyton Orient (2-1), Plymouth Argyle (3-1) and AFC Bournemouth (2-1) to get to the semi-finals.

Pep Guardiola’s side managed to earn a crucial 2-1 win over Champions League qualification rivals Aston Villa on Tuesday night, easing pressure on the Sky Blues as they now sit third-place in the Premier League with 61 points from 34 matches, while having a favourable run-in between now and the end of the season.

Nottingham Forest versus Manchester City will be broadcast live on ITV 1, STV, ITVX and STV Player.

Nottingham Forest

Ola Aina is Nottingham Forest’s only injury doubt heading into this game, as the Nigerian full-back is still recovering from a calf injury.

Manchester City

Nathan Ake, John Stones and Erling Haaland are Manchester City’s only ijnury absentees for this game.

Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest enters this game with two wins from their last four matches since beating Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s men earned a 1-0 victory over Manchester United at the City Ground thanks to a superb solo goal from Anthony Elanga, while last time out, the City Ground club beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in North London as Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood both got on the scoresheet.

In-between those matches, Forest suffered defeats to Everton (1-0) and Aston Villa (2-1).

Manchester City

As previously mentioned, City grabbed a vital late winner over Aston Villa (2-1) on Tuesday night thanks to Matheus Nunes’ stoppage time strike.

In the run-up to that match, City had earned wins over the likes of Everton (2-0), Crystal Palace (5-2) and Leicester City (2-0) while playing out a 0-0 stalemate with Manchester United at Old Trafford.

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