Our betting expert has three Nottingham Forest vs Man City tips for Saturday’s Premier League clash at the City Ground (kick-off, 12:30pm). Scroll down for the analysis behind his selections.
By Luke Weaser-Seychell
- Under 2.5 Goals @ 13/10 with bet365
- Erling Haaland to score at anytime @ 1/1 with bet365
- Bet Builder – Murillo to be booked / Forest to get most cards / Savinho 2+ shots @ 12/1
Tight affair could be on the cards
Only three Premier League teams (Liverpool, Arsenal and Bournemouth) have a better defensive record than Nottingham Forest this season.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have conceded an average of 1.22 goals per game, keeping 11 clean sheets in 27 league games.
The defending champions head to the City Ground having kept a clean sheet in two of their last three league matches, and are looking more secure at the back.
City’s 3-0 win at the Etihad in December bucked the trend, as the previous three meetings had seen under 2.5 goals, including in this fixture last season which Pep Guardiola’s team won 2-0.
With both teams battling for a top four spot, we expect the game to be very tight as a loss will be much worse for either team than a draw.
- Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Tip 1: Under 2.5 Goals @ 13/10 with bet365
Erling Haaland looking to maintain Forest record
Erling Haaland is now five goals behind Mohamed Salah in the race to win the Premier League Golden Boot, in what has been an uncharacteristic season for City.
The Norwegian has still managed 20 goals in 26 league games and heads to the City Ground to face a team his father Alf-Inge used to play for.
Haaland Junior has enjoyed previous success against Forest since moving to the English top flight in 2022.
The 24-year-old scored the second strike in a 2-0 win in this fixture last term and has racked up five goals in City’s last five games against Forest.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Tip 2: Erling Haaland to score at anytime @ 1/1 with bet365
Murillo could have his hands full
Both of these teams are in the bottom half of the Premier League booking stats, but Forest have collected 12 more yellow cards than their opponents.
With City’s pacy forwards running at the Forest backline, it could be another tough test for the impressive centre-back pairing of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic.
Both were cautioned when the teams met at the Etihad, and Murillo already has five bookings to his name this season.
It’s also worth noting that Forest collected more yellows than City in two of their last three meetings – this fixture last season saw no cautions for either team.
It was 4-2 in yellows to Forest in December’s reverse fixture, while the Reds collected seven bookings at the Etihad last season.
Only Haaland and Phil Foden have had more shots for City this season than Savinho, who has taken time to settle into life at Manchester City.
The 20-year-old has scored just one Premier League goal to date, but it’s not for the want of trying and has averaged 2.18 shots per appearance.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Tip 3: Bet Builder – Murillo to be booked / Forest to get most cards / Savinho 2+ shots @ 12/1 with bet365
