Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City preview and prediction: a goal-shy home side meets the league leaders

Context and table

Nottingham Forest host Manchester City at the City Ground in the Premier League on Saturday 7 November, with kick-off at 17:30 UTC. The two sides sit at opposite ends of the table as things stand at the time of writing.

Manchester City are first after 8 games, with 7 wins, 1 defeat and 21 points. Their goal difference is +11, from 20 scored and 9 conceded. Nottingham Forest are 18th with 6 points from 8 games, having won 1, drawn 3 and lost 4. They have scored 6 and conceded 10. Both sides may play again before this fixture, so the picture could shift.

Nottingham Forest's form

Forest's last 5 games brought 1 win, 1 draw and 3 defeats, with 4 goals scored and 7 conceded. The most recent result was a 1-1 draw away at Ipswich on 23 October. Before that came a 1-0 home defeat by Arsenal and a 3-1 loss at Crystal Palace.

Goals have been the issue. Forest average 0.8 per match this season and have failed to score in 50% of their games. The underlying chances tell a slightly different story. They created 2.33 expected goals at Ipswich and 3.34 at Crystal Palace, so the output has not always matched the opportunities.

Manchester City's form

City have taken 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 defeats from their last 5 games, scoring 13 and conceding 11. They drew 2-2 at home to Brighton on 28 October, lost 2-1 at Aston Villa on 24 October and beat AEK Athens FC 5-1 at home on 20 October. Before that they won 3-2 against Ipswich and lost 4-2 to Paris Saint Germain.

Over the season City score 2.5 goals per match and have not failed to score in any of their 8 league games. They have kept a clean sheet in 38% of them. Their recent games have been open, and they conceded 2.02 expected goals against Brighton.

Head-to-head

City have the better of the last 5 meetings, with 3 wins to Forest's 1 and 1 draw.

• 4 March 2026: Manchester City 2-2 Nottingham Forest
• 27 December 2025: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester City
• 27 April 2025: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester City
• 8 March 2025: Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester City
• 4 December 2024: Manchester City 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Forest's only win in that run came at the City Ground, and they have scored in 3 of the 5 games.

Outlook

The table and the season numbers favour City, who have scored in every league game and sit well clear of a Forest side that has struggled for goals. Yet City's recent form has been less convincing than their position suggests, with 2 defeats and a draw in their last 3 games. Forest have created decent chances without converting them consistently. The form points towards a City edge, though a closely contested game looks quite possible.