Manchester City will clash heads with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground this Saturday afternoon as they look to grab maximum points on the road. The Mancunian giants managed to earn a brilliant 3-1 win over Arsenal recently which will give them a lot of confidence ahead of this game.
Pep Guardiola will set his team up in a 4-4-2 formation and could make some changes to his starting XI for this game. Both Manuel Akanji and Aymeric Laporte will get a chance to play from the start while Ruben Dias and Kyle Walker drop to the bench.
4-4-2 Manchester City Predicted Lineup To Face Nottingham Forest
Defence
Ederson will function in between the sticks for Man City after shipping in one goal in his last league outing. As mentioned earlier, Aymeric Laporte will play alongside Manuel Akanji at the heart of Guardiola’s defence as they look to keep things solid at the back during the 90 minutes.
Rico Lewis will get the nod to start at right-back while Nathan Ake fills in on the other flank as the left-back. Both of them could get the license to get forward and join in on the attack at every chance they get.
John Stones will be sidelined for this game due to a hamstring injury. However, Kyle Walker and Ruben Dias will provide cover for the defensive positions on the bench.
Midfield
Bernardo Silva and Rodri will try to anchor the midfield with conviction for the Mancunian giants and try to dominate the battle at the centre of the park.
Phil Foden will function as the left-sided wide player while Riyad Mahrez hopes to get his name on the scoresheet from the right flank. Guardiola will instruct both of them to get in behind the Nottingham backline and create some decent chances in the final third.
Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish will have to settle for a spot on the bench and might come on to influence the game in the latter stages if needed.
Attack
Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne will lead the charge for the Mancunian side on the attacking end of the field. Haaland will once again be Man City’s best hope for a goal while De Bruyne acts as the main playmaker in the opponent’s half.
Julian Alvarez will be named on the bench as he waits for his opportunity to shine in the second 45 minutes if Man City are in need of a goal by then.
