How Man City could line up in Premier League clash vs Forest (4-1-4-1)

Manchester City head to Nottingham Forest on Saturday knowing a win could lift them above Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, at least for a few hours.

Pep Guardiola’s side are right on the leaders’ heels, and the pressure is beginning to build as we move into the second half of the season.

City are typically heading into this period in fantastic form, having won seven matches in a row across all competitions. They’ve won their last three consecutive league games by a 3-0 scoreline.

Repeating that trick against Forest would see them etch their name in the history books as the first top-flight side to record four straight league wins by three goals or more without conceding.

After shipping in a combined six goals against Leeds United and Fulham, City have also tightened things at the back.

Since then, they’ve conceded just once across five games in all competitions and that came in the 2-1 Champions League victory over Real Madrid.

Guardiola has shown how serious he is about the title race with his light-hearted but firm warning about player fitness after Christmas. He’s not one to leave the fate of the title race to fate.

However, City still have to be wary of Forest, who are hoping to be party poopers on home turf. The Tricky Trees are hoping to finally end a winless streak against the 2023 treble winners at City Ground.

How Man City could line up

Guardiola has confirmed that Man City will be without three key players for the game against Forest, with Rodri, Jeremy Doku, and John Stones still out.

Mateo Kovacic and Oscar Bobb are also long-term absentees, so the Spanish tactician could be forced to tweak his set-up as he did against West Ham United.

Gianluigi Donnarumma should retain his place in goal, while an established back four of Nico O’Reilly, Josko Gvardiol, Ruben Dias, and Matheus Nunes chase a fourth consecutive clean sheet.

Tijjani Reijnders is expected to anchor the midfield alongside Nicolas Gonzalez and Bernardo Silva, while Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden play in-behind Erling Braut Haaland.