Champions League
Conference League
Premier League
Published on Dec, 04 2024
Manchester City will look to snap their seven-game winless run on Wednesday when they face Nottingham Forest, but a win is no sure thing for the reigning Premier League champions. Pep Guardiola's side sit in fifth place and 11 points off top spot after Sunday's defeat to Liverpool, leading many to call time on their hopes of winning a fifth successive Premier League title. They also sit just one point ahead of Forest, who are in sixth as they continue an impressive season under manager Nuno Espirito Santo. It creates a competitive environment for a crucial midweek clash as the battle for European spots starts to take shape.
It's safe to say that things have not looked good at all for Manchester City, who have traded their dominant ways for the longest winless streak in Pep Guardiola's managerial career. The goals are drying up, scoring just seven in their last seven and going goalless in two of their last three games. Their bigger problem, perhaps, is that they are conceding goals at an alarming rate. They have let in 19 goals during their poor run of form, and that's even with Guardiola's choice to swap first-choice goalkeeper Ederson for Stefan Ortega in Sunday's 2-0 loss at Anfield.
City have no doubt been hit hard by Rodri's absence after he tore his ACL in September but the problems seem to be bigger than him and the most surprising thing of all is that Guardiola seems like he's out of answers. That does not necessarily mean they will not come, though – he will be at the club until at least the end of next season and despite jokes about his firing from opposing fans, there's little to suggest he's the wrong person for the job. In the meantime, Guardiola hopes thinking small will get his side out of their unprecedented funk.
"You're thinking [about] the next one," he said, per Sky Sports. "When we won a lot of games, you're thinking [about the] next one. That is the same, to try to clean the heads. … We cannot talk of the results we had in the past. To think about any big targets will be a big mistake. The biggest thing is to try to win [against] a team that is close to us, to take advantage of them, to be close in the top four and that is the target."
City: Ortega, Lewis, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Nunes, Gundogan, Silva, Foden, Grealish, Haaland
Nottingham Forest's ability to stifle opposition attacks and concede only 13 goals in 13 Premier League games could hurt Manchester City in their current poor form up top. Expect a closely contested match, and one that might not end the doom and gloom the reigning champions are currently feeling. Pick: Nottingham Forest 1, Manchester City 1
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