Manchester United Vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Red Devils Must Appear Fierce At Old Trafford
JAKARTA - Manchester United and Nottingham Forest will try to rise from defeat in the middle of the week when the two teams meet at Old Trafford, Saturday night, December 7. This meeting became an interesting match after the last time they met in February, where United narrowly won 1-0 over Forest in the fifth round of the FA Cup thanks to Casemiro's header in the final minutes.
Manchester United under Ruben Amorim have just suffered the first defeat under his leadership. Wednesday 4 December, they fell 0-2 at Arsenal's hands, who took advantage of the dead ball's lead to score two goals in the second half through Jurrien Timber and William Saliba.
With a record of five wins, four draws, and five defeats from 14 matches, United are now in 11th place in the Premier League standings, seven points adrift of Manchester City in fourth place. However, they had a slick record at Old Trafford, where they were unbeaten in their last seven matches in all competitions, with six wins and one draw.
On the other hand, Nuno Espirito Santo's Nottingham Forest was a surprise this season, but their performance has declined in recent weeks. After a narrow 1-0 win over Ipswich Town, Forest lost 0-3 to Manchester City on Wednesday night. This defeat kept them in sixth place in the standings in hopes of approaching the top four during the year-end busy period.
United had to play without Luke Shaw who returned with a muscle injury, while Victor Lindelof was also absent due to a groin problem. Jamal Evans is still doubtful after not joining the squad against Arsenal with a minor injury.
However, United got good news with the return of Leandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo who had finished serving the suspension penalty. Leny Yoro is likely to appear as the first starter in the back line, while Amad Diallo, Marcus Rashford, and Joshua Zirkzee are likely to be in the main line.
Forest is still without an injured Danilo (article) and Ibrahim Sangare (hamstring), who is likely to return next year. Coach Nuno Espirito Santo could choose a four-back formation or return to use three defenders like in the second half against Man City.
Elliot Anderson is expected to replace either Ryan Yates or Nicolas Dominguez in midfield. On the front lines, former United player Anthony Elanga has the potential to play alongside Chris Wood, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Callum Hudson-Odoi or Jota Silva.
Manchester United have a brilliant record at home against Nottingham Forest. Of the last seven Premier League meetings at Old Trafford, United won six of them. In addition, they have always scored in 14 Premier League meetings against Forest, making it their 100% goal-scoring record with Swansea City.
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Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest will try to record a consecutive win over United for the first time since April 1992, under Brian Clough. Despite losing to Man City in the last game, their away performance this season was quite impressive with 11 points from seven matches, which is the third best record in the league.
In the United camp, attention was focused on Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee, who performed brilliantly with each scoring two goals in a 4-0 win over Everton last week. Casemiro's midfield presence is also key to team stability, especially after they struggled in the match against Arsenal.
On the part of Forest, Anthony Elanga has more motivation to perform well against his former club. Morgan Gibbs-White is also a major threat to attack with his creativity and vision of play.
Manchester United are expected to take advantage of their advantage of playing at home to get three important points. However, Nottingham Forest, which has a good away record this season, will not be easy to beat.
Estimated Lineup Of Players
Manchester United: Onana; Yoro, De Ligt, Martinez; Diallo, Casemiro, Mainoo, Dalot; Fernandes, Rashford; Zirkzee.
Nottingham Forest: South: Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno; Yates, Anderson; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Elanga; Wood.
Score Prediction: Manchester United 2-1 Nottingham Forest
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