Man City went 2-0 down against Palace during the weekend but once again they dug deep and won the match 4-2. They will have no time to rest however because they take on Nottingham Forest in midweek.
Steve Cooper’s side have only won one of their first four matches back in the Premier League but despite their loss to Spurs, Forest played really well against Conte’s men. They will obviously be the underdogs on Wednesday but Palace and Newcastle have shown that Manchester City’s defence is not unbreachable.
Man City have won their last six home matches in the Premier League and they will need to win this one if they want to remain close to the top of the table. Arsenal are yet to lose a game while the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea are also picking up pace so Pep Guardiola’s side need to present their A game on Wednesday night.
Man City’s team news and injuries:
Guardiola could be without as many as four first-team regulars and two of them are central defenders. Laporte and Nathan Ake are both ruled out meaning John Stones and Ruben Dias are the only two fully-fit centre-backs.
Kalvin Phillips is yet to play a part for Manchester City and he’s likely to miss the Forest game with a shoulder injury. The manager would love to rotate his players if Phillips is not ready then he has no other option but to use Rodri in defensive midfield.
Ilkay Gundogan came off the bench in the Palace game but since this is a midweek game, the manager should hand him a start in midfield. This will allow Bernardo Silva to move into the right-wing, in place of Riyad Mahrez.
SECOND-HALF HAT TRICK FOR ERLING HAALAND pic.twitter.com/Ioh0bYtlNi
— B/R Football (@brfootball) August 27, 2022
Jack Grealish is another player whose name is on the injury list and he will be touch and go. He returned to light training last week which means he will probably go through a late fitness test.
If Grealish is not available then Phil Foden will hold onto his place in the starting line up. Haaland scored a hat-trick against Crystal Palace so he will definitely start up front.
Ideally, the Pep Guardiola should not be making too many changes to his first XI because he has a few players missing but then the Spaniard is known to shuffle things up when least expected meaning there’s every chance that a few of the subs get an opportunity to start against Forest.
Man City predicted line up vs Nottingham Forest:
Predicted Starting Line up(4-3-3): Ederson; Cancelo, Walker, Stones, Ruben Dias; Gundogan, De Bruyne, Rodri; Foden/Grealish, Haaland, Bernardo Silva.
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Stats via Fotmob
