Nottingham Forest face one of their toughest tests of the season on Tuesday night when they take on reigning Premier League champions Manchester City.
Forest travel to the Etihad Stadium looking to bounce back from a spirited performance, but ultimately, a loss against Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend. A Harry Kane double at the start and end of the game saw Antonio Conte’s men come out as 2-0 winners.
The Reds now face another tough game as they take on Man City with Pep Guardiola’s men coming back from 2-0 down at the weekend to record a 4-2 home win over Crystal Palace. Summer signing Erling Haaland scored his first hat trick in a City shirt.
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Ahead of the game the City boss has hinted that he could rest the Norwegian striker for Forest’s visit to the Etihad Stadium. Earlier this month, Guardiola said that Haaland won’t play every game when the club have three games in a week, which is the case this time around.
Fellow summer signing Julian Alvarez is also a name that has been on the agenda for Guardiola. The Argentinian is still waiting for his first start in the Premier League.
It is probably seen from the outside that it could be a case of one or the other between Haaland and Alvarez. However, it has been predicted the the duo could play together against Forest.
According to the Manchester Evening News’ predicted XI, both players could play in a front three alongside academy graduate Phil Foden. The front players could be supported by a midfield three of Rodri, Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan.
That would mean Bernardo Silva starting on the bench, with the Portuguese an option to make an impact for Guardiola during the game. One area that may not be rotated is the back four.
Aymeric Laporte is ruled out, with Nathan Ake also missing the previous game against Palace. It means that John Stones and Ruben Dias are expected to start in the middle of defence with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo playing at full back.
Man City Predicted Team vs Nottingham Forest: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Dias, Cancelo; Rodri, De Bruyne, Gundogan; Alvarez, Haaland, Foden.
What is your predicted Forest line-up for the game? Tell us in the comments section
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