Nottingham Forest v Man City

A unique semi-final lineup in the FA Cup sees Manchester City as the only representatives of the traditional ‘big six’ sides left in the competition, giving a real opportunity to Aston Villa, Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest to lift the trophy at the end of the season. City have found some form of late, winning four of their last five games in the Premier League, setting them up well for this semi-final in what is their last chance to lift silverware this campaign.

Forest have enjoyed a historic campaign, they’re on course to qualify for Europe through their league position, but can add silverware to that momentous achievement by progressing through to the final here. They’ve already got the better of City this season in the Premier League, running out 1-0 winners in the most recent head-to-head meeting at the City Ground.

⭐ Nottingham Forest v Man City Best Bet

Kevin De Bruyne has played a massive role in City’s recent resurgence in form as he plays out his last few games for the Cityzens with the 33-year-old set to depart at the end of the season.

City’s comeback win against Palace a few weeks ago seems to have awoken something in Pep Guardiola’s side. De Bruyne was instrumental in that game, scoring a free kick to get City back into the game and having six shots overall, with two of these attempts finding the target. He also found the target in City’s 2-1 win over Aston Villa last time out, which was a massive result in the context of the race for a Champions League finish.

De Bruyne has had 16 shots on target across his 24 Premier League appearances, 16 of these have been starts, taking his average to 0.99 shots on target per 90 this season. He didn’t start the recent meeting between the sides at the City Ground, but did manage to have two shots off the bench despite only being on the pitch for 21 minutes. De Bruyne had three shots on target in the first league meeting between these sides at the Etihad, scoring as well as providing an assist on that occasion.

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👕 Nottingham Forest v Man City Predicted XI

🔍 Nottingham Forest v Man City Players to Watch

🔴 Anthony Elanga

Elanga is perfectly suited to how Nottingham Forest like to play. Their counter-attacking style suits his speed and directness, with the former Manchester United winger adding more end product to his game this season.

Only Chris Wood (19) has scored more goals for Nottingham Forest this season than Elanga (6) in the Premier League. He’s had 16 shots on target across his 26 Premier League starts this season (0.70 per 90) and can exploit a City backline which hasn’t been able to deal with fast transitions particularly well this season. 

🔵 Omar Marmoush

Marmoush has settled in really well to this Manchester City side, he’s had to step up in the absence of Erling Haaland, who is still missing for this game. Marmoush’s foul record really stands out, he’s quite aggressive off the ball and has mistimed plenty of challenges since joining Pep Guardiola’s side.

Marmoush has committed 13 fouls across his 12 Premier League appearances this season (1.27 per 90). He committed a foul in the recent head-to-head meeting between the sides despite only being on the pitch for 21 minutes, which highlights his proactive approach in winning the ball back. 

📂 Nottingham Forest v Man City Cheat Sheet

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💻 Nottingham Forest v Man City Form and Tactics

Forest are unlikely to spring any tactical surprises here, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have played in the same manner all season, and it has been really effective at a time where most sides prioritise keeping the ball and looking to build from the back.

Forest are the best at making the most of transitions, the likes of Elanga and Hudson-Odoi benefit massively from Morgan Gibbs-White’s ability to find them when Forest are breaking, with Chris Wood usually hanging around to apply the final touch to their attacks. 

This isn’t the only aspect of Forest’s game that has been impressive this season; they are excellent defensively, as they showed in their 1-0 win over Manchester City at the City Ground recently. Murillo and Milenkovic, in particular, have been superb for Forest this season, with Matz Sels behind them proving a reliable keeper who has kept Forest in multiple games this season.

The full-backs could be a cause for concern, Ola Aina is set to miss this game through injury which is a big blow for Forest, Pep Guardiola could look to exploit this by playing a more adventurous winger such as Doku who was really effective in setting up the equaliser in City’s most recent game against Aston Villa.

City have finally found some consistency after what has been a hectic season, winning four of their last five games in the Premier League. There are still teething issues for City, especially at the back where they can still be vulnerable to sides making the most of transitions and fast breaks - something which Forest are excellent at.

🏁 Nottingham Forest v Man City Ref Watch

• Referee - Michael Oliver

• Stats are on a per 90 basis and are taken from 2024/25 games in all competitions (39 total).

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* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.