Key events
18 minutes Ederson's problem is in his left shoulder, so Ortega warms up a little but it is not necessary.
16 minutes Ederson is down, after having come to look for the center and colliding with Boly. I think he'll be fine.
16 minutes Ederson can't stand the next corner but he escapes.
15 minutes And now Williams takes Forest, his cross sent back for a corner that produces another…
14 minutes Forest clears the corner but loses the ball, Doku does not catch his shot which deflects off the far post.
13 minutes De Bruyne whips beautifully, Murillo heads to his own bar with Rodri on the prowl.
13 minutes De Bruyne finds Doku, who flickers between Niakhate and Aina, winning the free kick near the right corner of the area…
12 minutes Gibbs-White curls over the wall… and over the bar.
10 minutes Aina regains possession and charges forward, so Doku, not really wanting to follow him, concedes the foul. Free kick woods, left of center, 25 yards.
10 minutes “I'd like to speculate that Pep is wearing a 'waffle knit',” says Peter Dodd.
I'm not sure I know what that is, which I think is a good thing.
9 minutes Rodri stretches out on Gibs-White to unload him with a good challenge, Grealish feeds De Bruyne on the left of the area and opens his body to finish… just beyond the post.
7 minutes “I agree with you about wanting Forest to stay up,” says Stepehen Halliday. “I have fond memories of Steve Sutton in goal for reasons I'm not too sure about. But I also want Luton to stay awake. But I'm a Spurs fan so I'd like Man City to fill Forest today for obvious reasons. I am so confused…”
As Wily Wonka almost said, so much hate, so little time.
5 minutes Grealish and Gvardiol move the ball down the left, then as it comes in De Bruyne passes behind.
4 minutes City get underway as the crowd makes lewd suggestions about Gary Neville's favorite pastime.
3 minutes “It's not a double weave,” Gina Jolliffe chides. “It seems more like Aran's weight…”
Whatever it is, you can't miss it.
1 minute Aina steps on the accelerator and burns down the left, launching a cross that marks the winger on the other side! But Williams misses his shot, volleying into the ground which is then cleared.
1 minute Let's go away!
Reflect on Kintyre time. I hope Forest stays on its feet or it would if it weren't completely impartial – a real football club that the top flight needs.
Our teams come out in droves, the City Ground is quite noisy.
About Arsenal, If City lose any points, they win the league if they win all their games. I doubt they are expecting that to happen today and in the future, it's Wolves (h), Fulham (a), Spurs (a), West Ham (h). It seems sinister, doesn't it?
“I'm an Arsenal fan and I was really hoping to see Robertson and Francis starting today for Forest.” writes Alan Baverstock. “Very disappointed.”
Not even a Tommy Gaynor, a Franz Carr or a Phil Starbuck.
Merse believes Forest could have done better go 4-5-1 and not 5-4-1, especially considering that City might not play with a suitable centre-forward. I agree because I think they need to compete in the midfield; their defense is not good enough to withstand constant pressure.
Guardiola, by the way, It has double knit, cardy and roll neck. I trust him first division We have now modified points 115 to 116.
“it is what it is” Guardiola advises when asked about Foden's absence; More news as he receives it.
Meanwhile, Nuno says any result is possible and he wants his team to go for it.
I said before that Guardiola's football is the most difficult style to beat that has ever existed; As proof, let's think about the Spanish team that won three competitions in a row despite not having any recognized striker and not even being coached by Guardiola. The only similar influence I can think of is Mourinho's Chelsea, who continued to win thanks to him for several years after he left.
Looking again at the side of the forest, City's changes could help their game plan, because Grealish and Doku offer less defense than Foden and Bernardo, who were in midfield on Thursday night. They will have to be brave and numerous, but the most important thing is that they will have to make good and quick decisions when they have possession.
City, on the other hand, will do what they do, hitting him until Forest loses patience or concentration. It's difficult to choose between a back five and a bench of four, but there's no one better to do it.
Where is the game? Well, it seems pretty clear where Nuno thinks he is, his 4-5-1 seemed designed to attack City on the flanks. Josko Gvardiol is not a left-back, so you would expect to see Elanga running in behind him, with Morgan Gibbs-White looking to support Chris Wood. The question, however, is how much ball they will receive from a midfield that will likely be spread all over the field.
Arsenal holds on, They beat Spurs 3-2 and now lead the table by four points. City, although they have two games less, are now losing by nine goals.
Email! “Good morning from Pittsburgh!” Eric Petersen begins. “I'm going out on a limb here, but I don't think Nottingham Forest's defeat in this one is down to VAR. In the whole Mark Clattenburg soap opera, I'm surprised that UEFA or even FIFA haven't intervened yet. It's one thing to question the integrity of the game and another for a club official to do so, but Clattenburg is an internationally accredited referee and backs up such allegations through his gainful employment with that club. Inexplicable and unforgivable. “I would suggest considering a lifetime ban from the game.”
I think it's hard, we've all said stupid things before. But I agree it's very strange behaviour, and Forest's tweet last Sunday was a total disgrace.
Three terrible decisions – three sanctions not imposed – that we simply cannot accept.
We notified the PGMOL that the VAR is a Luton fan before the match but they did not change it. Our patience has been tested several times.
The NFFC will now consider its options.
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) April 21, 2024
Son sweeps the penalty into the side netting and Spurs have three minutes plus extra time to try to force the tie that would surely give City the title.
My goodness, after giving Spurs a first goal… David Raya passed the ball straight to Cristian Romero: Declan Rice has now hit Ben Davies just inside the area, and Spurs have a chance to get closer to 3-2!
As for City, Pep Guardiola cools off a bit. Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish replace Phil Foden and Matteo Kovacic. Foden is not in the squad because he is ill, while Kovacic retires to the bench. Erling Haaland is also on the bench, back from injury.
Back to the teams, Nuno Espírito Santo makes two changes to the team that lost to Everton: Nicolás Domínguez and Gio Reyna leave (the strongest one must be injured) and Anthony Elanga and Wily Boly enter, already recovered.
There has been an entertainer at the Spurs…
Equipment!
Nottingham Forest (5-4-1-): SEALS; Williams, Niahkhaté, Boly, Murillo, Aina; Elanga, Danilo, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Wood. Substitutes: Turner, Sangaré, Toffolo, Reyna, Yates, Origi, Montiel, Omobamidele, Ribeiro.
Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodrigo, Bernardo, De Bruyne; Doku, Álvarez, Grealish. Substitutes: Ortega Moreno, Carson, Stones, Kovacic, Haaland, Gómez, Nunes, Bobb, Lewis.
Preamble
It would probably be polite to wait for the North London derby to finish before making a preamble here, but that's not really possible given the schedules nor does it feel entirely necessary given Tottenham and the general course of negotiations. Because, like all great champions, city of manchester They are phenomenal at doing whatever it takes to earn a point more than any challenger they can think of to deprive them of the title, their unwavering confidence inspired by a coach whose style of play is the hardest to beat in the history of football.
However, the Forest, despite their humble position, are not easy prey. Backed by a rowdy crowd desperate to help them stay on their feet, their muscular speed and inventiveness, especially on the counter-attack, could be a threat to City if they can keep the back door shut.
Yeah. Just a week ago, Forest conceded two goals against Everton, a feat that is not easy to achieve, while City have reached devastating form with their usual mortifying ease and inevitability. Since they drew 0-0 with Arsenal, they have scored four against Villa, four against Palace, five against Luton and four against Brighton or, in other words, Forest are in trouble. But they have the tools to get out of there and, if they can, the title race and the relegation battle will be very different tonight. Even if they can't, this should be a decent intensity afternoon, so let's dive right in.
Start: 4:30pm BST
