Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch Midweek UEFA Champions League action saw Enzo Maresca's side pick up their first non-penalty shootout win since October 20, with a fifth win from seven matches against RB Leipzig. Despite a largley uninspiring performance in the first-half, the Blues took the lead in the 37th minute in a lightning fast exchange, kick-started by Rayan Cherki. The France international's long ball was inch-perfect, finding the feet of Nico O'Reilly, from there the fullback drilled it into the box in search of Enzo Fernandez. While he didn't reach the intended target, a clumsy block from Leipzig centre-back Castello Lukeba saw the ball bundled into the back of the net, giving the visitors the lead. Into the second-half, Manchester City still struggled to gain a foothold into the match. Moments after making a sensational save, an error from Gianluigi Donnarumma saw the ball nestling in the back of the net. What looked like a cross from Ridle Baku had crept in at the inside post, leaving Maresca's side with it all to do just after the break. Just 10 minutes later, Fernandez stepped up to give his side the lead once more. Iliman Ndiaye's in-swinging cross was met by a bullet header from the Argentine, and Manchester City looked to be heading home with all three points once again. But, once again the hosts came up with an equaliser. Christopher Nkunku's pass cleared the City back four, laying perfectly in the path of Antonio Nusa who made no mistake. The Norwegian winger showing exactly why he has become so highly sought after, giving his side a lifeline. Still, the visitors struggled to really take hold of the match. Former Nottingham Forest man Elliot Anderson has very quickly become a fan favourite in his brief time at the Etihad, and his work for the winner served as an example of exactly what he is capable of. Springing forward from the midfield, Anderson carried the ball out wide before wrapping his foot around the ball to unleash the perfect cross towards the back post. From there, who else but Erling Haaland to finish it off? With all three points confirmed, up next for Manchester City is a trip to the City Ground to face Nottingham Forest. Forest enter this one amid an incredibly poor run of form, with just one win since the start of the season. They currently sit second from the bottom, with only Regis Le Bris' Sunderland having a worse start to the season. Despite their poor run of form, even just a point could see them end the weekend ahead of Manchester United . City's recent league form leaves a lot to be desired too though, with two losses from the last two, a win here is imperative in order to keep within touching distance of leaders Arsenal . It may still be early on in the title race, but going six points behind at this stage could prove very difficult to come back from. In recent fixtures, matchups against Forest have been anything but straight forward, but given their struggles since losing star midfielder Anderson, you would be forgiven for thinking that this one should be that little bit easier. Here is everything you need to know ahead of Manchester City 's Premier League clash against Nottingham Forest! Match Details Nottingham Forest will host Manchester City at the City Ground on Saturday 7 November, with kick-off scheduled for 17:30 UK. Match Officials Yorkshireman Sam Barrott has been appointed referee ahead of Saturday's fixture. Barrott's last time refereeing a City match was the 3-0 Community Shield defeat to Arsenal. In total, he has refereed seven Manchester City matches, with four wins for the Blues and three defeats. You can find the full list of match officials below! Team News For Manchester City, only Antoine Semenyo misses out. The winger is expected to return shortly before the end of the year. Oliver Glasner will be without Nicolo Savona , Nicolas Dominguez  and Igor Jesus . Savona has been out of action since January with a knee injury, while he has returned to training, this one will come too soon for him. Dominguez picked up a knock in the recent 1-0 defeat to Arsenal and is unlikely to feature on Saturday. Igor Jesus has been sidelined with a calf injury since September, following his side's 0-1 defeat to Coventry City. Press Conference Quotes Enzo Maresca will preview the trip to Forest in a press conference at the City Football Academy from 13:30 UK on Friday. Refresh for updates. Head to Head Manchester City have faced Nottingham Forest 109 times since 1899, in that time the Blues have won 46 times and lost on 34 occasions. Since Forest's return to the top flight in 2022, City have taken all three points from six of the nine meetings. Forest's sole win from those nine occasions came in the 2024-25 season, when Callum Hudson-Odoi's 83rd minute effort was enough to seal the win. Last time out, it was Elliot Anderson who put a nail in the coffin of City's title aspirations with a long-range equaliser. On that day, Antoine Semenyo opened the scoring with Rodri cancelling out Morgan Gibbs-White's initial equaliser, it was then that Anderson struck to rain on City's parade. In the fixture before that, goals from Rayan Cherki and Tijjani Reijnders were enough to provide City with a 2-1 comeback triumph. Statistics Nottingham Forest are joint last in the scoring charts, with just six goals so far this season. For reference, Erling Haaland currently sits on nine goals in the league. Forest have failed to score in five of their nine outings in the league this season, also failing to score in the opening round of the Carabao Cup. A goal for Erling Haaland would see him become joint top scorer in this fixture, with Niall Quinn having scored six against Forest in his time at the club. The Norwegian striker has failed to score in his last four appearances against Forest, a rare blank streak by his standards. Oliver Glasner's side are yet to score a goal at home this season, their longest goal drought at home since 2018, where they failed to score across six consecutive home games. Manchester City have not lost three consecutive Premier League matches since Manuel Pellegrini was in charge, with the last time being back in March 2016. Oliver Glasner has failed to win any of his five previous Premier League meetings with City as a manager, losing four and drawing one during his time at Crystal Palace . His sides conceded at least three goals in all four defeats. How to Watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City will be available to watch on Sky Sports Main Event,  for those watching in the UK. Radio coverage will be available on BBC Radio 5 Live .