Premier League: Manchester City Reach for the Summit

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City

Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City can go top of the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime if they can win away to Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Once the Christmas festivities are over it is back to business for the title chasers, the strugglers and the upwardly mobile teams. I’d put Forest in the latter category, certainly since Sean Dyche took over the reins, but they come into the game on the back of a 1-0 loss to Fulham and now they take on the might of City. The Sky Blues have shrunk Arsenal’s lead at the top of the table to just two points after winning their last five, and for the first time this season the Premier League 2025 betting odds are pointing to a direct shootout between the two clubs.

Can Forest do Arsenal a favour, before the Gunners take on Brighton and Hove Albion later on Saturday, or will the lead have already gone to Manchester? 

Let’s take a look at the mood in each camp, and the SBOTOP odds, and make our call.

 

Talking Points

Forest lost their bite in London

Forest’s trip to Fulham turned out to be a disappointing night for the Midlanders as they went down to a Raul Jimenez penalty and never really threatened to get back into the game. With only three shots on target in the match, two for Forest, it wasn’t a good game to watch, and Dyche was disappointed by his team’s failure to turn promising situations into goals: “We got into good positions, but never really threatened,” he said. “You have to ask more questions. Our goalkeeper has not had a save to make, apart from their penalty. Sometimes it is just a frustrating night. I don’t think it was a particularly good game but you have to get something from it and we weren’t able to.” 

Dyche has been missing his centre forward Chris Wood who has been out of action with a knee injury since mid October. With 91 goals, the 34 year old is closing in on an elite club of Premier League centurians and he is one of the best authentic centre forwards in the business. Forest have plenty of creative muscle, led by the excellent Morgan Gibbs White, but in a game like the battle of attrition at Craven Cottage, Wood is a man you would like to call on.  

The Forest boss is nothing if not a pragmatist and he will know that his team will play much of Saturday’s game without the ball. The hosts need to strike when they get the chance and their defence, with the excellent partnership of Nikola Milenkovic and Murillo at its heart, will need to be at its very best.           

 

Guardiola is pushing for more

Going along nicely in Europe and the EFL Cup, and with an ever improving set of Premier League 2025 results, the Sky Blues are beginning to look, once more, like the serial winners they have been over the past decade. But, after a hugely impressive run of five wins across three competitions, scoring 13 goals and conceding just one, in a 2-1 Champions League win away to Real Madrid, Guardiola says his team still needs to improve. After wiping West Ham away with a 3-0 win last Saturday the manager said: “We did many good things. Thanks to Erling for the goals. Defensively we are improving. I’m happy, I cannot deny that, but the way we play with the ball we have to improve or it will not be enough in April to be a contender to win the league.”

Pep is a perfectionist but his team is getting closer by the week. Haaland, with 19 goals from 17 games looks unstoppable at the moment and, while striker Omar Marmoush is away at AFCON, along with Rayan Ait-Nouri, City have a wealth of riches in support of their main man, with Rayan Cherki the latest to put in some stellar performances.

Guardiola wants more and, if he gets his wish, the Sky Blues will take some stopping.     

 

History

Nottingham Forest have had plenty of success in this fixture over the last ten games, winning three and drawing two to City’s five victories, while at the City Ground there have been two wins each and a draw. Last Season the Sky Blues won 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium before falling to a 1-0 defeat at the City Ground as Callum Hudson Odoi won the game with a moment of quality.     

With three victories and three losses from the last six games in all competitions, Dyche has certainly got Forest winning though he hasn’t found consistency just yet, something the Sky Blues certainly have with six wins from six.    

 

Betting Tip

Forest are out at odds of 5.00 to win this game with the Sky Blues at 1.65 and the draw is priced at 4.33, and I think an away win is very much on the cards, with 0-2, at 7.75, my preferred option for a score line. I expect City to get ahead early and stay ahead for another three points…and that will pile the pressure on Arsenal. 

   

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