Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City (FA Cup semi-final): Match Preview, Team News, Stats, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City return to action this weekend to face Nottingham Forest in a seventh successive FA Cup semi-final with all eyes on a last shot at silverware this season.

Last time out, Pep Guardiola’s side earned a monumental three points in the race for UEFA Champions League football defeating rivals Aston Villa 2-1 at the death courtesy of a Matheus Nunes winner.

The game got off to a quick start as a man who has faced heavy scrutiny in recent weeks gave the champions the lead with less than eight minutes on the clock after a dangerous ball into the box by Omar Marmoush was attacked by Bernardo Silva, who fired past Emiliano Martinez.

Truthfully it was a poor finish that the Aston Villa shot-stopper probably could have done a lot better with upon reflection, but that was purely trivial as Manchester City now led in this huge tie.

The lead didn’t last long however, after a rather clumsy challenge from Rúben Dias gave the visitors the chance to equalise from 12 yards, which Marcus Rashford dispatched cooly past Stefan Ortega, restoring parity and making it one apiece on the night.

Manchester City dominated the vast majority of what remained, having the lion’s share of possession, limiting the visitors to half chances while the Blues themselves pushed for the winner.

Then when it seemed like City were not going to find the breakthrough and Unai Emery’s men had done enough to secure a point, some superb play from the ever-energetic substitute Jérémy Doku allowed him to skip free down the left.

Villa’s Axel Disasi allowed the Belgian to produce an inch-perfect cross with the outside of his boot in the dying moments, which Matheus Nunes slotted into the net from a relatively acute angle and winning the contest with almost the final kick of the ball.

City’s opposition this weekend come into the fixture in inconsistent form, securing five league wins from their last 10 fixtures, drawing one and losing the other four. But Nuno Espírito Santo’s side remain relatively solid at both ends of the pitch, scoring 23 goals in that period whilst conceding 11.

The reigning Premier League champions will look to finish an underwhelming campaign on a positive note as they fight for a last opportunity at securing silverware in a difficult 2024/25 season.

And ahead of a huge clash at Wembley, here is everything you need to know ahead of a mouth-watering semi-final clash!

Match Details

Manchester City travel to Wembley Stadium in London to face Nottingham Forest this Sunday afternoon, with kick-off in the capital scheduled for 16:30 GMT.

Match Officials

The Football Association has confirmed that Michael Oliver will officiate Manchester City’s clash with Nottingham Forest on Sunday afternoon.

Check out the full list of match officials below!

Team News

For Manchester City, Ederson has returned to first-team training but remains a doubt for Sunday’s FA Cup clash. Pep Guardiola told the media on Friday, “Eddy is coming back and training a little, but I don’t know if he will be ready for this game. Hopefully for the next one.”

John Stones and Nathan Aké remain absent following their respective longer-term issues that have sidelined both defenders for a prolonged period, while Erling Haaland will also be sidelined for this clash and likely for the next few fixtures.

Rodri is still recovering from his ACL injury sustained in September against Arsenal, but City fans have been handed a huge boost in terms of news on his fitness.

When asked about the possibility of the Ballon d’Or winner participating in an FA Cup final should Manchester City progress this weekend, Pep Guardiola stated, “I don’t know. Every training session he’s doing with us, so he’s doing really well, I would say.”

“But yeah, I don’t know. To be honest, I don’t know. Rodri wants it, but the doctors are going to tell me, ‘Pep, you have green lights to give him some minutes,’ or so on. I will rely on the doctors in that case.”

On a disappointing front, Oscar Bobb has sustained a new minor hamstring injury, adding to the 21-year-old’s relentless injury woes this campaign although it remains to be seen when he could return to action.

As for Nottingham Forest, Eric da Silva Moreira is confirmed to be ruled out after sustaining an ankle injury in their last match. Jota Silva picked up a knock in the same game, so the Portuguese is a possible doubt.

Full-back Ola Aina sustained a calf injury in their fixture against Manchester United in which he was substituted before half time, so whether the Nigerian will be fit for Sunday’s semi-final remains uncertain.

Head to Head

In their last match, Nottingham Forest emerged 1-0 victors at the City Ground, with Callum Hudson-Odoi scoring the solitary goal. City offered very little in the final third as Forest were defensively resolute, and the home side had the better of the chances.

With less than 10 minutes to play – with the deadlock still to be broken – Ederson went from zero to hero as some poor positioning allowed Hudson-Odoi’s near-post strike to squirm into the back of the net, securing three points in a relatively toothless performance from the visiting Premier League champions.

Historically, this fixture has been fairly evenly matched, as of the last 85 games played across all competitions. Manchester City have won 34, whilst Forest have been victorious 27 times, and honours ended even in the remaining 24.

Statistics

Nottingham Forest have beaten Manchester City 1-0 in the Premier League this season, last beating them twice in the same campaign in 1989-90 (2x league, 1x Full Members Cup).

Manchester City have lost four of their five FA Cup meetings with Nottingham Forest (W1), most recently a 3-0 home loss in the third round in 2008-09.

This is Nottingham Forest’s first FA Cup semi-final appearance since 1990-91 under Brian Clough, beating West Ham 4-0 at Villa Park before eventually losing to Spurs in the final.

This is Manchester City’s seventh consecutive appearance in an FA Cup semi-final, winning three and losing three of the previous six. They’ve won the last two and are looking to reach the final in three consecutive years for the first time.

This will be just Nottingham Forest’s second match at Wembley Stadium since its reopening in 2007, previously beating Huddersfield 1-0 in the 2022 Championship play-off final. Meanwhile, this will be Manchester City’s

28th game at the ‘new’ Wembley (as a neutral venue), with only Chelsea playing there more often (30).

How To Watch

For viewers in the United Kingdom, the game can be streamed live from 16:30 GMT on ITV1.

For viewers in the United States, the game will be available on ESPN+ USA, with action getting underway from 11:30 EST.

You can find full TV listings for this match here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout Wednesday evening, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!