Neco Williams has been impressive playing out of position as a left-back for the majority of the campaign and now faces up against a Manchester United side that play with two players in the wide areas which will leave him outnumbered on a few occasions.

Williams is averaging 0.86 fouls committed per 90 across his 26 Premier League appearances this season, he committed a foul and was shown a yellow card in the initial meeting between these sides. Williams contested 13 duels that game whilst Forest committed 13 fouls in total suggesting that Nuno Espirito Santo’s side will continue to employ a physical approach here.

Williams will be up against Alejandro Garnacho (1.76 fouls won per 90) and Noussair Mazraoui (0.81 fouls won per 90) who should test him regularly down that side of the pitch. Williams also likes to get forward as evidenced by his shot average this campaign (1.37 per 90), this increases his chances of committing a foul by also bringing in the right-sided centre back into play which presents Williams with three opponents on that side of the pitch. 

Elanga will be eager to impress against his former club and has shown his quality this season in registering 13 goal contributions across his 29 Premier League appearances - only Chris Wood has provided more goal contributions for Nottingham Forest than the Swedish winger this campaign.

He’s achieved this whilst averaging 1.46 fouls won per 90 and can trouble Manchester United here with his speed against a backline that isn’t blessed with it. Elanga was fouled once in the meeting at Old Trafford despite only coming off the bench for 10 minutes.

Elanga could be deployed through the middle here in the absence of Chris Wood which shouldn’t hinder his chances of being fouled considering that he’ll be up against a back three that will outnumber him on most occasions but his speed and willingness to run in behind should lead to him being dragged to the ground at least once here.  

Frustration has got the better of this Manchester United side on a few occasions this season, they’ve picked up 62 yellow cards in the Premier League this campaign (2.13 per 90) - only five teams have collected more cards in the Premier League this season than Ruben Amorim’s side.

As well as being down to frustration, this card record also reflects the fact that Amorim’s system is still not quite working leading to the wingbacks and midfield duo in particular having to make tactical fouls to stop the opposition breaking on them quickly with the Red Devils struggling to maintain a resting defensive shape.

This should be particularly prominent here given how Forest like to play, the home side will set up moments of transition when United make mistakes or lose the ball high up the pitch which should mean this game sees plenty of turnovers which result in United players having to make last ditch fouls. The referee for this game is Jarred Gillet who is averaging 4.40 cards per game in the Premier League this season. 

It’s hard to look past Forest here, Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have gone from strength to strength this campaign most recently booking their spot in the FA Cup semi-finals whilst they hunt down a place in the Champions League next season.

Only two teams have gone to City Ground and won this season, underlining the size of the task faced by Manchester United. What could prove crucial here is Forest’s defensive record at home - they’ve only conceded ten goals at the City Ground this campaign which is the best home defensive record in the Premier League. Only Arsenal, Liverpool, and Crystal Palace have conceded fewer goals on the whole in the Premier League this season than Nottingham Forest.

Manchester United have failed to win ten of their 14 games on the road this campaign. It would be a surprise if they are able to break down this stubborn Forest defence given the limited options they have in the final third. Nottingham Forest ran out 3-2 winners in the initial meeting between these sides and have the momentum to record a similarly positive result here.

Chris Wood is expected to miss this game due to injury which leaves Forest a little blunt in the final third but in his absence Anthony Elanga looks like a player that can step up to deliver against his former side.

Elanga has provided 13 goal contributions in the Premier League for Nottingham Forest this season (five goals, eight assists) - only Chris Wood (21) has provided more goal contributions for Nottingham Forest this campaign. Elanga has improved his end product this season having always had the speed to get in behind the opposition backline but he’s now converting these chances more often and could be set to line up through the middle here.

His combined xG and xA comes out to 7.4 which is a trend across this Nottingham Forest side, they have been outperforming a lot of their expected metrics this campaign which indicates that they are clinical when given the chance, often leaning on confidence and momentum to carry them over the line. Elanga has already matched his output from last season in the Premier League and can add to his solid season here against his former employer. 

Dominguez is incredibly combative in the middle of the park and has been an underrated part of Nottingham Forest’s success this season. He’s picked up eight yellow cards which is the joint most in the Forest squad alongside Ryan Yates.

Dominguez is averaging 1.61 fouls committed per 90 and will operate in what is set to be a very congested area of the pitch with as many as seven players battling it out for control. Forest will revel in this scrap as it suits their game plan perfectly but not without stepping over the line on occasion. The referee for this game is Jarred Gillet who is averaging 4.40 cards per game in the Premier League this season. 

Nottingham Forest’s midfield duo committed eight fouls between them in the meeting between these sides at Old Trafford earlier in the campaign, emphasising how much work Dominguez is likely going to be tasked with here. Yates in particular was fortunate to avoid a booking in committing six of Forest’s 13 fouls in the game once again indicating that this will be a hotly contested part of the pitch. 

This has the makings of quite a tense game. Nottingham Forest are chasing a spot in the Champions League next season but face a tough run of games to end the season with only a five-point gap separating them in the battle for Champions League qualification.

Forest’s games at the City Ground this season have been quite controlled, they’ve only conceded ten goals which is the best home defensive record in the Premier League this campaign, and have seen under 3.5 goals in four of their last five games with the exception coming against Ipswich. Forest will be without Chris Wood for this game which is a massive miss but also leaves them a tad blunt in forward areas as we saw in their 0-0 draw with Brighton at the weekend.

The initial meeting between these sides did produce five goals but a combined xG of 2.43 was generated in the game which suggests that there should be a more balanced game here in line with the trends both sides have displayed across the campaign. Manchester United have also seen under 3.5 goals in four of their last five games across all competitions. 

Manchester United have been quite reliable when it comes to corners this season. Ruben Amorim’s side have struggled to generate chances from open play so turning to set pieces has proved a key feature in ensuring Manchester United still offer an attacking threat. They have plenty of aerial threats and will have chances to win corners here as the side that controls possession.

United had five corners to Forest’s three in the meeting between the sides at Old Trafford earlier in the season and are averaging 4.64 corners per game across their 14 away games in the Premier League this season. Forest have the lowest possession numbers in the Premier League (39.6% per game) which should give United opportunities to win corners when pressing against Forest’s stubborn backline.