Nottingham Forest host Manchester City at the City Ground on Saturday evening in the Premier League, with the hosts 19th in the table and City second. Forest have six points from nine games, while City have 21 points from the same number of matches.
This Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City prediction matters for bettors because the form gap is stark but the fixture has recent bite: Forest’s only win in the last five meetings came at the City Ground in March 2025, and City have just lost back-to-back Premier League games after winning their first seven.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Prediction: Match Preview
Forest’s recent run has been poor: a 2-0 defeat at Brentford and a 1-1 draw at Ipswich followed a 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal, a 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace and a 1-0 home defeat to Coventry City. City, meanwhile, won 3-2 at RB Leipzig in the Champions League but lost 1-0 at home to Brighton and drew 2-2 with Brighton in the Carabao Cup, with a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa and a 5-1 Champions League win over AEK Athens before that.
Team Recent Form
Nottingham Forest (most recent first): L-D-L-L-L — Brentford 2-0 Nottingham Forest (Premier League); Ipswich Town 1-1 Nottingham Forest (Premier League); Nottingham Forest 0-1 Arsenal (Premier League); Crystal Palace 3-1 Nottingham Forest (Premier League); Nottingham Forest 0-1 Coventry City (Premier League).
Manchester City (most recent first): W-L-D-L-W — RB Leipzig 2-3 Manchester City (UEFA Champions League); Manchester City 0-1 Brighton (Premier League); Manchester City 2-2 Brighton (Carabao Cup); Aston Villa 2-1 Manchester City (Premier League); Manchester City 5-1 AEK Athens (UEFA Champions League).
Key Stats
- Nottingham Forest have scored just six goals in nine league games, joint-lowest in the division, and have failed to score in five of those nine.
- Manchester City lost back-to-back Premier League games (Aston Villa and Brighton) after winning their first seven league games of the season.
- Erling Haaland leads the Premier League scoring charts with nine goals this season.
1-2 is our Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City prediction for the correct score: City’s quality should carry them through despite their league wobble, but Forest’s win over City at the City Ground in 2025 shows the hosts can make a game of it.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City H2H
- 4 March 2026: Manchester City 2-2 Nottingham Forest (Premier League)
- 27 December 2025: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City (Premier League)
- 27 April 2025: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City (FA Cup semi-final)
- 8 March 2025: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester City (Premier League)
- 4 December 2024: Manchester City 3-0 Nottingham Forest (Premier League)
City have won three of the last five meetings, with one draw and one Forest win — the 1-0 at the City Ground in March 2025, settled by a Callum Hudson-Odoi winner.
Pre Game Odds
- Nottingham Forest win: 4.60
- Draw: 4.00
- Manchester City win: 1.63
Odds via Sportytrader (best prices, published 5 Nov 2026), pre-match and subject to change.
Team News Nottingham Forest
Nottingham Forest are without Nicolò Savona (knee injury, long-term). Nicolás Domínguez is doubtful with a muscle injury after missing the Ipswich and Brentford games, while Igor Jesus is doubtful — sources disagree on whether he is out with a calf issue or expected to return for this game. No suspensions were reported.
Predicted Nottingham Forest XI (predicted only, not confirmed): Sels; Jair Cunha, Milenkovic, Murillo; Aina, McAtee, Schlager, Williams; Ndoye, Gibbs-White; Delap. Sources split on the right wing-back (Aina or Muñoz), while Chris Wood is pushing Delap for the striker spot and Hudson-Odoi is pushing Ndoye.
Team News Manchester City
Manchester City are without Antoine Semenyo (knee injury picked up against Ipswich on 17 October, expected out until about 19 December). No other absentees were reported, and City are expected to restore their strongest XI after rotating at RB Leipzig.
Predicted Manchester City XI (predicted only, not confirmed): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guéhi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Fernández; Ndiaye, Cherki, Doku; Haaland. Sources split at left-back (O’Reilly or Gvardiol) and in the No. 10 role (Cherki or Foden).
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Betting Tips
Tip 1 – Result: Manchester City win. Tip 2 – Over-Under 2.5: Over 2.5 goals. Tip 3 – BTTS Yes-No: Both teams to score – Yes.
Our Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City prediction is a City win: City’s quality should see them through at the City Ground, but Forest’s home win over City in 2025 means the hosts should not be written off entirely.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Prediction Summary
Our Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City prediction is a 2-1 away win, with Manchester City to win as the main pick. Forest sit 19th with six points from nine games and have scored just six goals, while City are second with 21 points and have Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s leading scorer with nine goals, leading their attack.
City have lost back-to-back league games, but their quality should carry them through at the City Ground, where Forest won the last meeting between the sides in March 2025. The hot tip is Over 2.5 goals: Forest have failed to score in five of their nine league games, yet City’s attack has kept scoring even in defeat, including three at RB Leipzig in midweek, and the 1-2 correct-score prediction points to goals at both ends.
Both teams to score is the second market, and Manchester City win and Over 1.5 goals completes the set of betting tips for this Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City prediction. City have won three of the last five meetings, with one draw and one Forest win, and the visitors are expected to restore their strongest XI after rotating at RB Leipzig. Forest are without Nicolò Savona, while Nicolás Domínguez and Igor Jesus are doubts, and City are without Antoine Semenyo. With the odds at 1.63 for a City win, 4.00 for the draw and 4.60 for a Forest win, the value sits with the visitors to bounce back on Saturday 7 November 2026.
