Nottingham Forest vs. Man City live score, updates, highlights and lineups as Phil Foden returns to starting XI
CITY GROUND, NOTTINGHAM — Manchester City will seek to close out what might prove to be a pivotal week in the Premier League title race with victory at Nottingham Forest.
Pep Guardiola’s reigning champions were 3-1 winners at Arsenal on Wednesday night, a result that put them above Mikel Arteta’s side on goal difference at the top of the table before the Gunners dramatically beat Aston Villa 4-2 in Saturday’s early kickoff.
Erling Haaland moved on to 26 goals in his debut Premier League season and will hope to increase that tally against a team his father Alf-Inge Haaland represented in the 1990s.
Haaland netted a hat-trick when City romped to a 6-0 triumph over Forest in August but Steve Cooper’s side are a different proposition now, especially on home turf at the City Ground where they are unbeaten in seven league matches.
Sporting News is following the match live and providing live score updates and commentary below.
Nottingham Forest vs. Man City live score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| NOT | 0 | — | — |
| MCI | 1 | — | — |
Goals:
MCI — Bernardo Silva (Jack Grealish) — 41st minute
Nottingham Forest vs. Man City live updates, highlights from the Premier League
Halftime: That was a very good half by City, capped by a thunderous goal from Bernardo Silva. Pep Guardiola would have liked his players to test Keylor Navas a little more, but faced with a well-manned and disciplined Forest defence, they seldom allowed their tempo to drop in possession – something that has been feature of the champions’ more listless performances this term.
45th minute+1: Just one minute to add on before the break. The timing of Bernardo Silva’s goal means plenty of Forest fans have already headed for refreshments.
41st minute: GOOOOOAAAALLLLLL!!!!! Bernardo Silva!!!!
Clearly he was just getting his eye in with that last one. Phil Foden’s corner floats over to the right-hand edge of the area to Grealish, who takes his time, squares to Silva who absolutely obliterates a 25-yarder beyond Keylor Navas. It was in the middle of the goal, but I’m not sure how much the former Real Madrid and PSG goalkeeper could have done about that.
39th minute: Bernardo Silva pops up in the right-wing, where we’d usually be more accustomed to seeing Manchester City’s auxiliary left-back. He cuts in and lets fly with a wonderful effort that scoops just past the top corner. Jack Grealish and Morgan Gibbs-White engage in a frank exchange of views. The City winger thinks he’s coming in for overly rough treatment once again.
37th minute: City patiently work the ball from back to front. Then Foden adds some pace to proceedings with a darting dribble into the Forest box. He finds Ilkay Gundogan but Keylor Navas pouches a straightforward save.
34th minute: Close! City should be ahead. Rodri joins an attack and continue his run into the Forest box. Kevin De Bruyne’s floated ball picks out the Spain midfielder but he heads wastefully wide.
30th minute: Phil Foden finds some space in the box but he takes too long, tries to spin out of trouble with three men around him and Keylor Navas takes the ball off his toes.
27th minute: Jack Grealish gets the foul from Serge Aurier all the time. Which will do nothing to quell the situation of Grealish getting booed for being fouled. Foden’s delivery is headed half-clear but Jonjo Shelvey. De Bruyne meets the follow-up sweety from 25 yards but it not troubling Keylor Navas.
25th minute: For the first time today, Ilkay Gundogan spots space in behind and aims a ball over the top for Erling Haaland. It’s overhit and the Germany playmaker is disappointed with himself. Kevin De Bruyne is also in that club as he duffs a shot wide from outside the box on City’s next attack.
24th minute: Aurier pretty robustly shoves Jack Grealish over. The referee waves play on and Forest launch it towards Brennan Johnson, who is going to be their major threat on that right wing. The Wales international lacks support, goes it alone and first across the City six-yard box.
20th minute: City have started very sharply here but the Forest defensive performance is one of those that comes to look instantly heroic. The exploits of Joe Worrall, Serge Aurier and their colleagues at the back is really firing up the home crowd. Belting atmosphere.
18th minute: Brilliant from Phil Foden, who leaves Renan Lodi on his backside. He finds De Bruyne, whose cross is just over Erling Haaland. Forest half clear but City get it back and are into one of those periods of rolling attacks. Another fine intervention by Serge Aurier on Grealish at the back post means the home team survive.
16th minute: Grealish is up to continue after some treatment. Kevin De Bruyne thunders his free-kick into the top of the wall.
14th minute: Bernardo Silva is onto a slack Forest clearance and sends a bouncing ball towards Jack Grealish. Joe Worrall comes flying in with his studs up and is booked. The home captain points out to referee Graham Scott that that’s his first one. That’s true, but it as a hell of a first one!
11th minute: Not for the first time today, Phil Foden over-hits a delivery. Erling Haaland chases the loose ball, Aurier slides into win the tackle and deck the Norway star. The locals lap it up.
👉 Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick in Man City’s 6-0 win over Nottingham Forest in August.
The only player to have scored a hat-trick in both fixtures against a side in a season in #PremierLeague history is Emmanuel Adebayor for Arsenal vs Derby in 2007-08. pic.twitter.com/E1urqEEhbz
— Sporting News Football Club (@sn_footballclub) February 18, 2023
10th minute: Corner for City. Aymeric Laporte nods down Kevin De Bruyne’s delivery and Ilkay Gundogan is the latest man to have a shot blocked. Serge Aurier gets in the way. Now Forest break, Brennan Johnson sets Jack Grealish sprawling and the referee waves “play on”. The Wales international gets into the City box but Laporte and Kyle Walker are across to snuff out the danger.
8th minute: Foden is popping up in pockets of space and causing Forest problems. This time he sets up Jack Grealish, who takes a touch and absolutely lashes a shot from about 12 yards. Home skipper Joe Worrall makes a goal-saving block.
6th minute: Ilkay Gundogan aims a raking ball into the Forest box. Foden touches it back towards the penalty spot but there’s no one there.
4th minute: Serge Aurier leaves on on Jack Grealish very late. That’s stupid. De Bruyne will like the look of this freekick, which is level with the left corner of the penalty area and about 25 yards out. Foden boots it over everyone, Aymeric Laporte is wrestled to the ground for the second setpiece in a row and the City players are furious. It’s a moot point because Laporte would have had to be 10 feet tall to get anything on that.
2nd minute: Kevin De Bruyne floats a free-kick towards the backpost. It reaches Foden, who has time to weigh up his options but punts a cross into Keylor Navas’ chest. Forest look to break and the home fans want handball against Kyle Walker, who grapples effectively with Morgan Gibbs-White.
1st minute: Manchester City get us underway. The City Ground breaks out en masse into “Champions of Europe, you’ll never sing that!” What had 10 seconds on that sweepstake? Well played!
Minute’s silence for the late Christian Atsu at the City Ground@sn_footballclub pic.twitter.com/vayEWcj1CO
— Dom Farrell (@DomFarrell1986) February 18, 2023
3 mins from kickoff: The teams are out to Guns N Roses’ Welcome to the Jungle, as is customary at the City Ground. The City fans away to my right boo the Premier League anthem, as is now customary.
5 mins from kickoff: Steve Cooper is out in the dugout, taking a rapturous ovation from the Forest faithful. The players are in the tunnel and the atmosphere is crackling nicely.
10 mins from kickoff: Forest fans behind the temporary goal where City’s players were going through some shooting drills started up with pantomime cheers as player after player missed the target. Even Erling Haaland put a couple wide until Phil Foden and Ilkay Gundogan stopped the fun by firing past backup goalkeeper Scott Carson. Hard to read too much into final preparations but Foden looks razor-sharp on what is a big afternoon for the England attacker after a spell out of Pep Guardiola’s first XI.
Back in the starting XI 👊#ManCity pic.twitter.com/FSJ7UROpTu
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 18, 2023
15 mins from kickoff: The teams are well into their warmups now. This is the sort of situation where City’s players will speak afterwards about being focused on the task at hand, but they’ll definitely know what’s happened at Villa Park. The crowd at the City Ground are close to the pitch and Pep Guardiola’s squad are warming up at the end of the ground where the away fans are stationed. This is the stuff title races are made of. The fact City’s players have been in these situations many times before doesn’t make them any less intriguing.
— Premier League (@premierleague) February 18, 2023
35 mins from kickoff: Well, well, well, it looks like Arsenal have a stoppage-time winner at Villa Park. That will mean City need to win in part of the Midlands to return to top of the table. Find out how all the drama has played out in Villa vs. Arsenal here.
Oleksandr Zinchenko pulls Arsenal back level again! 🚀
A vitally important first goal in Arsenal colours for the Ukrainian… pic.twitter.com/VocaKrr33K
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 18, 2023
40 mins from kickoff: It looks like left-back once again for Bernardo Silva then, or at least a Guardiolisme interpretation of it. The likes of Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White will certainly have their eye on that area of the field. Silva discussed his unlikely deployment this week, which has been brought about in part by Joao Cancelo’s shock January departure to Bayern Munich.
I’m not going to lie, it’s very tough. When you play those positions you have to have a defenders’ mentality. You lose a little bit your offensive thinking and what you do with the ball. You are more focused on not making mistakes and defending well, occupying the spaces. “It’s been challenging but it’s been nice. It’s a good challenge. I love challenges and I try to help the team as much as possible in the games we have won. Important games and we need to keep going.
58 mins from kickoff: And here’s the Forest team. There are five changes, with some of those enforced by Steve Cooper’s injury list. Joe Worrall, Felipe, Jack Colback, Jonjo Shelvey, and Danilo are the men to come in.
Your #NFFC side to take on @ManCity this afternoon! 💪 pic.twitter.com/BeqwNXAoG3
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) February 18, 2023
1 hour from kickoff: The teams are in. Phil Foden starts for Manchester City. Looks like Bernardo Silva will do his thing again at left-back.
📋 TEAM NEWS 📋
XI | Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Bernardo, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Foden, Grealish, Haaland
SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Phillips, Ake, Alvarez, Gomez, Akanji, Mahrez, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity | @HaysWorldwide pic.twitter.com/DmNINBJWkE
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 18, 2023
1 hr 20 mins from kickoff: Team news is 20 minutes away, something that is always a matter of intrigue when Pep Guardiola is around. Prior to this match, the Manchester City manager gave some fascinating insights with regards to his thought processes after the decision to field Bernardo Silva as a hybrid right-back against Arsenal raised eyebrows.
“I cannot go to sleep or wake up in the morning, have something inside of me visualising what the opponent can do and think: ‘The normal thing is play the starting XI that 89% of the people around the world say is the best.’,” he said. “In 14 years, starting with the second team Barcelona, I never took a decision like: ‘I am going to show something [to show off].’ I have to feel it in my guts, in my stomach.”
“[It’s about] responsibility. I feel, I see many things, I speak to staff, see training, see personal issues of players with problems at home, maybe they are satisfied about a win or sad because they don’t play. This is always part of my decision, why I take the selection.”
1 hr 40 mins from kickoff: Well, well, well. It’s all going off in the title race this week. Arsenal are trying to bounce back from their midweek defeat to City against Aston Villa at the moment and this is what’s going on at Villa Park.
2 hours from kickoff: Hello and welcome to the Sporting News’ live coverage of Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester City from the City Ground.
🙌 @JackGrealish 🙌#ManCity | @okx pic.twitter.com/bKepL6tCsJ
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 17, 2023
MORE: Watch every Premier League match live with fuboTV in Canada
Nottingham Forest vs Man City lineups
Forest head coach Steve Cooper is battling against one of the longest current injury lists in the Premier League with eight first-team players out of action.
First choice centre-back pair Scott McKenna and Willy Boly were both forced off in last weekend’s 2-0 loss at Fulham, with the duo injured at the same time in a bizarre collision. Their absences account for two of five changes overall, with Joe Worrall, Felipe, Jack Colback, Jonjo Shelvey, and Danilo the men to come in.
Nottingham Forest starting XI (4-3-3): Navas (GK) — Aurier, Felipe, Worrall, Lodi — Colback, Shelvey, Freuler — Gibbs-White, Danilo — Johnson
Nottingham Forest subs: Hennessey (GK), Williams, Toffolo, Scarpa, Mangala, Surridge, Dennis, Ayew, Wood.
City came through their win at Arsenal unscathed and England star John Stones (hamstring) is their only absentee for this clash. However, Pep Guardiola could shuffle his pack with an eye on next week’s Champions League trip to RB Leipzig, with Phil Foden and Rico Lewis among those in contention to start
Man City starting XI (4-3-3): Ederson (GK) — Walker, Dias Laporte, Silva— De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan — Foden, Haaland, Grealish
Man City subs: Ortega (GK), Lewis, Gomez, Ake, Akanji, Phillips, Mahrez, Palmer, Alvarez
Nottingham Forest vs Man City live stream, TV channel
Here’s how to watch all of the action from this match in some of the major territories:
| TV channel | Streaming | |
|---|---|---|
| USA | — | Peacock |
| Canada | — | fuboTV Canada |
| UK | — | — |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| New Zealand | — | Sky Sport NOW |
| India | — | Jio TV, Hotstar VIP |
| Hong Kong | — | now TV |
| Malaysia | — | Astro GO |
| Singapore | — | StarHub TV+ |
UK: This match will not be broadcast live in the UK due to the television blackout on Saturday 3pm kickoffs.
USA: This match streams on NBC’s Peacock platform for subscribers in both English and Spanish.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streaming exclusively via fuboTV in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
Add Comment