Manchester City Won't Be Fooled by Nottingham Forest's Surprise

NOTTINGHAM, FRIDAY – Under the management of Sean Dyche, Nottingham Forest has always known how to surprise giants. This ability will be put to the test once again as Forest hosts Manchester City at the City Ground Stadium, Nottingham, on Saturday (27/12/2025) at 19:30 WIB.

After parting ways with Ange Postecoglou, Forest has gradually begun to find its best form of play, although it has not always been smooth. However, one positive aspect since Dyche took over as manager is that Forest consistently displays a resilient mentality whenever facing giant teams.

Manchester United, Liverpool, and Tottenham Hotspur have experienced it first. In three matches against those big teams, Dyche has never tasted defeat with Forest. Both Liverpool and Spurs were defeated by three goals without reply. Meanwhile, MU had to struggle to force a 2-2 draw until the final minutes of the match.

A surprise by overcoming the giant team is once again being sought by Dyche in front of the Forest supporters. Despite experiencing inconsistent performances after losing to Fulham, Forest is striving to stop City, who arrive with a record of seven consecutive victories across all competitions.

We need to strive to build togetherness and become a solid and spirited Nottingham Forest like last season, while continuing to grow and improve further.

Dyche can field his strongest lineup in the upcoming match. The center-back position will be filled by Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic. In addition to being solid in defense, Murillo can also be relied upon to deliver progressive passes.

In midfield, Elliot Anderson maintains the team's balance with his box-to-box abilities. Meanwhile, behind striker Igor Jesus, Morgan Gibbs-White is a creative force capable of creating dangerous chances.

"We need to strive to build togetherness and become a solid and spirited Nottingham Forest like last season, while continuing to grow and improve. I believe we are heading in the right direction. There is still much to achieve, but we know we have a team capable of doing it," said Forest striker, Chris Wood.

The magic of the City Ground Stadium is hoped to dampen City's momentum. This is because, there, Forest created a surprise last season by defeating City 1-0. That was Forest's first league victory over City since 1995. Thus, Forest has the opportunity to achieve two consecutive league victories over City for the first time in 30 years.

However, Forest has a negative tendency of frequently conceding goals towards the end of matches. Throughout this season, they have only conceded two goals in the first 15 minutes. The number of goals conceded by Forest is higher towards the end of matches, totaling 10 goals. This indicates that Gibbs-White and his teammates need to maintain better focus throughout the 90 minutes.

City can also optimize Forest's weaknesses in set-piece situations. Forest has conceded a total of 26 goals in the league, with 14 goals stemming from failures to anticipate opponents' set-piece executions. Corner kicks and free kicks could become a solution if City's attacks encounter dead ends.

City midfielder, Tijjani Reijnders, is very optimistic that his team can defeat Forest in front of their supporters. City has rediscovered their rhythm by consistently scoring three goals without conceding in three consecutive matches in the Premier League. City desperately needs a victory to surpass Arsenal, who are currently at the top of the standings.

"This is good. We are in very good form. For us, we must keep moving forward. This is not over. We must continue to put pressure on Arsenal," said Tijjani.

Although last season City was unable to achieve much at the City Ground Stadium, the outcome is likely to be different this time. This is because, no matter how skilled Dyche is at polishing a mediocre team, he has never been able to defeat Pep Guardiola, the manager of City.

In their previous 18 meetings, Dyche has suffered 16 defeats and only managed two draws.