The City Ground will play host to an intriguing Premier League battle on Tuesday evening, as Champions League hopefuls Nottingham Forest welcome a Manchester United side that are looking to make it back-to-back league wins for the first time this season.
Forest are third in the Premier League table, six points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City, while Man United sit down in 13th position, with the Red Devils an incredible 17 points behind their opponents in this fixture.
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In years gone by, the idea that Nottingham Forest would be favourites against Manchester United might have been seen as a bad April Fool's joke, but that is indeed the situation we find ourselves in on 1st April this year.
There are ten places and 17 points separating these two sides, so it's not a huge surprise that Parimatch have Forest down at 13/10 for Tuesday night's fixture. That said, new signups can claim boosted odds of 40/1 on that result when placing their first bet on it.
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Match preview
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Forest finished 17th in the Premier League last season, only narrowly avoiding relegation, so it would be fair to say that not too many would have expected them to be up in third position at this stage of the campaign.
The Reds have been nothing short of remarkable this term, boasting a record of 16 wins, six draws and seven defeats from 29 matches to collect 54 points, which is enough for third, six points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City in the battle for Champions League football.
Forest have won two European Cups, and top-level European action could be heading back to the City Ground next season, but there is still a lot of work to do for Nuno Espirito Santo's side in the closing stages of the campaign.
The Reds were 4-2 winners over Ipswich Town in their last league game on March 15, while they booked their spot in the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a penalty-shootout success over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.
Forest beat Man United 3-2 at Old Trafford in December, and they are looking to complete a first league double over the Red Devils since the 1991-92 campaign, when a certain Brian Clough was in charge.
Nuno's side are unbeaten in their last eight home Premier League games, recording six wins in the process, with that run including draws against the top two Liverpool and Arsenal, demonstrating the size of Man United's task on Tuesday night.
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Incredibly, Man United are looking to win back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time this season, having entered the March international break off the back of a 3-0 success at Leicester City.
The Red Devils also thumped Real Sociedad 4-1 in the second leg of their last-16 Europa League clash at Old Trafford on March 13, with Ruben Amorim's side now preparing to tackle Lyon in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Man United will not be securing Champions League football through the Premier League this season, but winning the Europa League would give them a seat at the top table for the 2025-26 campaign.
There is no getting away from the fact that it has been an incredibly difficult season for the 20-time English champions, but their last two performances would have raised confidence, and the team have not lost a fixture in normal time since the middle of February against Tottenham Hotspur.
In truth, the Europa League is much more important for Man United at this stage of the campaign, but having had a long rest ahead of this fixture, Amorim's side, who are 13th in the table, should be in a good place when it comes to potentially picking up a positive result.
The Red Devils have lost their last two Premier League games against Forest, including a 2-1 reverse in the corresponding game at the City Ground last term, but they did win 1-0 at the famous stadium in the FA Cup in 2023-24.
Team News
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Forest head coach Nuno said after the clash with Brighton that Chris Wood is a major doubt for Tuesday's fixture due to the hip issue that he suffered while representing New Zealand during the international break.
Morgan Gibbs-White will need to be assessed after a heavy collision with the goalpost against Brighton, but there is hope that the Englishman will recover in time to take on the 20-time English champions.
Should Wood not make it, then ex-Red Devils forward Anthony Elanga could operate through the middle, with Jota Silva coming into a wide area.
There are unlikely to be any surprises elsewhere, with Callum Hudson-Odoi in line to feature down the left, while towering centre-back Nikola Milenkovic will also be in the first XI.
As for Man United, five players returned to training following injuries at the end of last week, with Leny Yoro, Harry Maguire, Altay Bayindir and Tom Heaton all available for selection, but Luke Shaw is still not fit enough to feature.
Patrick Dorgu has now served a domestic suspension and will also be in the squad, but Lisandro Martinez, Amad Diallo, Kobbie Mainoo, Ayden Heaven and Jonny Evans are definitely out of the fixture.
Amorim has big decisions to make all across the pitch, and there could be a recall in the final third for Joshua Zirkzee, with Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund also starting after ending their goalscoring droughts against Leicester.
Maguire and Yoro could be introduced into the back three, while Dorgu is in line to feature down the left, having been excellent on his last appearance for the club against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, N Williams; Dominguez, Anderson; Jota, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Elanga
Manchester United possible starting lineup:
Onana; De Ligt, Maguire, Yoro; Dalot, Fernandes, Ugarte, Dorgu; Garnacho, Hojlund, Zirkzee
We say: Nottingham Forest 2-2 Manchester United
This has all of the makings of a wonderful match, and we are expecting goals on Tuesday night; Forest are the favourites on home soil, but Man United will be the fresher of the two teams, which should help to level it up.
It would not be a surprise to see a home or indeed an away victory in this fixture, but we just have a feeling that the points will be shared in an entertaining 2-2 draw.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
