ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - MANCHESTER CITY VS NOTTINGHAM FOREST

English Premier

2026-03-04 - Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Manchester City v Nottingham Forest
Football: English Premier League
Wednesday 4th March 2026 - Kick Off 7:30pm
This game is live on TV

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Manchester City

There will be quite a few supporters inside the Etihad Stadium listening out for updates from the Amex Stadium, but an experienced manager like Pep Guardiola will be reminding his players that they control their own destiny. If Manchester City win every League game left, they win the title and that means Guardiola and the squad have to remain focused on just winning their own fixtures and not worrying about Arsenal and what they are doing.

Both will be playing at the same time this midweek and Manchester City remain 5 points behind, but with a game in hand and knowing they have yet to host the League leaders at the Etihad Stadium. The side have an 11-2-1 record at home in the top flight and that is the joint best record through to this point of the season shared with Arsenal.

Manchester City have not always been the most convincing during a run where they have won 6 in a row in all competitions, but they showed the character in battling to a 0-1 win at Elland Road on Saturday. Since opening 2026 with consecutive 1-1 home draws, Manchester City have won 7 in a row here in all competitions.

The surprise news on Saturday was that Erling Haaland had picked up a knock that meant he could not feature and he remains a doubt a few days later. Nico O'Reilly has been in very good form, but picked up a knock during the win at Leeds United and is another doubt.

Nottingham Forest

Vitor Pereira admitted in his pre-match press conference that he was fully aware of the task in front of him when he decided to become the fourth Nottingham Forest manager of the season. He has also stated that the 'ambitious' demands of those in upper management means Pereira is expected to have a serious tilt at trying to win the Europa League at the same time he tries to keep Nottingham Forest in the top flight.

There has not been a lot wrong with the last 2 Premier League performances, but both have ended in defeat and that leaves Nottingham Forest 2 points clear of the bottom three in 17th place. The Tricky Trees have put together a 4-2-8 away record in the Premier League where they have scored 13 goals and conceded 22.

Nottingham Forest begun life under the new manager by winning 0-3 at Fenerbahce, but they have lost 3 in a row in all competitions since then, including consecutive Premier League defeats. They have lost 5 of the last 7 away Premier League games, including the last 2 in a row following back to back successes at West Ham United and Brentford.

Stefan Ortega is a doubt to face his former club.

Head to Head

An 83rd minute goal helped Manchester City edge to a 1-2 win at the City Ground just after Boxing Day.

Manchester City have beaten Nottingham Forest in all 3 home games since the latter returned to the Premier League in the 2022/23 season.

Prediction

No one would suggest Manchester City are in top form right now, but they are doing what is needed to win football matches and maintain the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Even when key players have been missing, Manchester City's squad has stepped up and that was the case in the fortunate 0-1 win at Leeds United on Saturday.

On that day Manchester City missed the clinical finishing of Erling Haaland and there is every chance that he will be absent again. That does put pressure on the other attacking players to step up to the plate, but Antoine Semenyo showed he can do that, and others like Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden will be looking to make an impact on Wednesday night.

It probably helps that Manchester City are going through a decent portion of the Premier League schedule, even if Pep Guardiola has not been very happy with the way the other competitions have been scheduled around League commitments. He has not been pleased with the FA Cup tie being a Saturday night ahead of a Champions League away tie on a Tuesday, but Guardiola is experienced and he will know how to motivate his players.

They should have too much for a Nottingham Forest team have been struggling away from home for much of the season and who continue to find a way to lose football matches.

Vitor Pereira's arrival has not quite sparked the bounce that Nottingham Forest would have hoped and the manager knows he is under pressure to deliver on two fronts.

Nottingham Forest did play really well against Liverpool, but they just struggled for the right balance in the 2-1 defeat at Brighton.

This has continued a poor run away from home, especially in the top flight and Manchester City have produced some comfortable home wins against this opponent since they returned to the Premier League. In the three home Premier League games played since August 2022, Manchester City have outscored Nottingham Forest 11-0 and won all of those fixtures.

Erling Haaland's absence will be felt if he is indeed absent, but Manchester City have coped without him in the past and they should still have too much for Nottingham Forest even if the Norwegian is missing again.

The Pick :

Manchester City 3-1 Nottingham Forest

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Manchester City - 1.25 Asian Handicap at 1.88 with Cloudbet