Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City prediction, odds and betting tips

Manchester City will be looking to build on their midweek victory over Arsenal when they face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City odds

Here are the latest match odds for Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City from bet365.

• Nottingham Forest: 8/1
• Draw: 19/4
• Manchester City: 3/10

Best bookies to bet on Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City predictions

For the first time since the middle of August, Manchester City are top of the Premier League.

A 3-1 victory over Arsenal in a rearranged fixture on Wednesday was enough for the defending champions to rise to the summit of the standings on goal difference.

Arsenal still have a game in hand on Pep Guardiola’s side, who have not quite been at their imperious best this term.

But City’s return to first place is an ominous sign as we approach the final third of the 2022/23 campaign.

Arsenal were actually the better team for long periods at the Emirates Stadium. They created the better chances and played the more fluid football in the first hour of the match.

But a combination of City’s experience and their clinical edge ultimately decided the game in their favour.

Whereas Arsenal failed to make the most of the opportunities they fashioned, City were ruthless in dispatching theirs.

Less than a fortnight ago, Guardiola’s side lost 1-0 to Tottenham Hotspur. We are only in February and there is still plenty of football to be played this season.

Moreover, City might be back in second spot by the time this match kicks off, with Arsenal facing Aston Villa in Saturday’s early kick-off. 

But now they have chiselled away at Arsenal’s advantage, City will fancy their chances of claiming a fifth title in six seasons.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City betting tips

Manchester City are now the favourites to win the Premier League title and they should prove too strong for Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

Both teams to score – 19/20 (bet365)

Manchester City may have reeled in Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, but it has not been entirely plain sailing for them in recent weeks.

Guardiola’s team have only kept one clean sheet in their last six top-flight encounters. The City boss has been tinkering with his defence and has yet to settle on a preferred line-up.

City have contested seven matches in the Premier League since the turn of the year, and Guardiola has named seven different back fours.

The latest iteration involved Bernardo Silva playing as an inverted left-back, but that experiment looks to be over.

“I tried something new and it was horrible,” Guardiola said of his tactics at the Emirates Stadium. “[In the] second half we were more like we are.”

City have conceded an average of a goal per game this season. That is the fourth-best record in the division, but it represents a backwards step from an average of 0.68 per match last term.

Nottingham Forest have made the City Ground a fortress in 2022/23, losing only three of their 11 games in front of their own fans.

They have scored in 10 of those 11 home encounters and could extend that fine record this weekend.

Manchester City second half higher scoring – 11/10 (bet365)

No team in the Premier League is more reliant on their home form as Nottingham Forest.

Seventy-five percent of the 24 points Steve Cooper’s team have amassed have come at the City Ground. 

Forest have scored just three goals away from home, a remarkably poor record for a side that is not even in the relegation zone.

But they are a much tougher nut to crack in the East Midlands, as evidenced by their present run of seven home games without defeat.

Forest have only conceded three first-half goals in that time, and they will be looking to get to the interval at 0-0 on Saturday.

Cooper’s men will be content to cede possession before hitting their opponents on the counter-attack.

City’s attacking quality is such that they are capable of finding the back of the net at any moment, but they have scored more goals after the break than before it.

Forest may have some success in holding out in the opening 45 minutes, but they will struggle to keep City’s frontline under wraps for the entirety of this weekend’s fixture.

Kevin De Bruyne to score any time – 12/5 (bet365)

It was a surprise to see Kevin De Bruyne on the bench for City’s defeat by Tottenham earlier this month.

It is true that the Belgian had not been at his dazzling best since the resumption of the domestic campaign post-World Cup. But he is still City’s star man, even after the summer arrival of the extraordinary Erling Haaland.

De Bruyne has been excellent since that moment. He made an instant impact against Spurs after entering the fray in the second half.

He then starred against Aston Villa, before scoring the opening goal and delivering a player-of-the-match display in the crucial victory over Arsenal last time out.

If both Rodri and Ilkay Gundogan start again on Saturday, De Bruyne will have even more license to make forward runs and join the attack.

He looks to have found form at the perfect moment, with City set to face RB Leipzig in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

At the price offered, De Bruyne is an attractive option in the anytime goalscorer market against Nottingham Forest.

How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City

• Location: City Ground, Nottingham, England.
• Date and time: Saturday 18 February 2023, 3pm.
• How to watch: Not being shown live in the UK.

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