Manchester City travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday for a key Premier League fixture as the title race intensifies. The champions, currently second in the league table with 21 points from nine games, face a Forest side sitting 19th and on a five-match winless run.
Oliver Glasner, the Forest manager, provided a mixed update on his squad's fitness. Key forward Igor Jesus, absent with a calf problem since the last international break, is on track to return for the City game if his recovery proceeds perfectly. Glasner added, however, that it may not make sense to take a risk with Jesus for one match given the two-week international break that follows. Nicolas Dominguez could be involved after missing the last two matches with a muscle issue, while Nicolo Savona has recently returned to training from a long-term knee injury. Glasner also confirmed that Taiwo Awoniyi is definitely out, and Anthony Elanga remains a major doubt for the weekend.
City's form has been mixed, with two wins, one draw and two losses in their last five outings across all competitions. Their most recent result was a 3-2 away victory over RB Leipzig in the Champions League, where Erling Haaland scored his ninth goal of the season. That win followed a disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Brighton in the league, a result that left them three points behind leaders Arsenal.
The last meeting between these sides ended in a 2-2 draw at the Etihad Stadium back in March. City will be looking for a more decisive result this time to keep pace at the top. Haaland, with nine goals in nine appearances, will be central to their plans. The Norwegian striker netted the winner in midweek, assisted by Elliot Anderson. City's next fixture after this is a home game against Bournemouth.
Forest's most recent starting lineup featured a 3-4-2-1 shape with Gibbs-White and Delap in attacking roles. City are expected to respond with their own attacking strength, having scored 20 league goals already this term. The match kicks off at the City Ground on Saturday afternoon, with Forest hoping to improve a poor recent record against City, having lost four of their last five Premier League meetings.
