Manchester City will be desperate to end their rut on Wednesday night when they welcome Nottingham Forest at the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League.
The Sky Blues are undoubtedly experiencing their worst-ever form under Pep Guardiola since his initial first season at the club. They have now lost six of their previous seven games following their 2-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, which leaves Pep Guardiola’s side 11 points behind the Reds and in fifth place.
Given Man City’s dreadful form and struggles to buy a win, Nottingham Forest will fancy their chances after a strong start to their league campaign.
Manchester City Team News
Rodri and Oscar Bobb remain long-term casualties whilst Mateo Kovacic is not expected back until late this month. John Stones has missed the last two games with an unspecified problem and it is unclear when the defender will return, but Jeremy Doku returned to the matchday squad on Sunday against Liverpool.
Predicted Manchester City lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1)
Goalkeeper
Pep Guardiola raised many eyebrows when he decided to start Stefan Ortega ahead of No.1 Ederson against Liverpool. Ortega conceded a penalty in the second half which was scored by Mohamed Salah to fire the hosts to all three points. Nonetheless, the City boss is likely to stick with the German in goal in midweek.
Defence
We could see a couple of changes in City’s backline which has been extremely porous for over a month now. Rico Lewis, who started in midfield against Liverpool, could replace the ageing Kyle Walker at right-back, with Josko Gvardiol coming in at left-back at the expense of Nathan Ake.
With Stones unlikely to return, Ruben Dias should start alongside Manuel Akanji in central defence once again. The City back four have to be at their very best to keep Forest’s dangerous attackers at bay.
Defence
Due to less turnaround time between games, Guardiola will look to freshen up his midfield unit by bringing in Kevin de Bruyne. The Belgium international has been restricted to appearances off the bench since returning from injury but he is expected to start here.
Matheus Nunes could be given a deeper role this time around, partnering Ilkay Gundogan in the engine room with De Bruyne pulling the strings from the No.10 position. Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden will drop to the bench.
Attack
Jeremy Doku was City’s biggest threat when he came on in the second half against Liverpool on Sunday. The unpredictable Belgian is pushing to start on the left flank, with Savinho hoping to enjoy a productive night off the other wing.
Having failed to make any sort of impact at Anfield, Erling Haaland will be raring to score against Forest and help the Sky Blues overcome this difficult period.
