What will Nottingham Forest's starting line-up be against Man City?
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The City Ground has been a difficult place for some of the bigger teams in the league this season with a victory over Liverpool and a draw with Chelsea, albeit those two sides are significantly underperforming. That said, Steve Cooper’s Reds will be confident of thriving off the expected intense atmosphere to get about the new league leaders, Manchester City.
Dean Henderson remains sidelined due to injury so Keylor Navas, who joined from PSG on transfer deadline day and has already won a man of the match award in his first two games, will continue in goal for Forest.
Serge Aurier has put in some excellent performances and is expected to start at right-back. Joe Worrall has been in and out of the team of late but the club captain should start this match due to injuries to Willy Boly and Scott McKenna, as well as the versatile Cheikhou Kouyate. Brazilian duo Felipe and Renan Lodi are expected to make up the rest of the eleven.
Jonjo Shelvey has yet to make a start for Forest since joining on deadline day but the former Newcastle midfielder could get the nod ahead of Ryan Yates who is a doubt as he recovers from an illness. He should partner Remo Freuler, who, despite joining only in the summer, captained Forest last weekend in the absence of the aforementioned Worrall.
Cooper is a very flexible and tactically adept manager so, due to the standard of opposition, it seems likely he will try and bolster the midfield rather than opting for an extra attacker. Given that, summer signing Orel Mangala, who had a slow start to life in the Premier League should offer support to Shelvey and Freuler.
The dynamic and match-winning duo of Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White will continue in their roles towards the top end of the match. Chris Wood will likely start this match due to the combinations and link-up play he has already shown with Johnson and Gibbs-White. Taiwo Awoniyi remains sidelined due to injury, whilst Jesse Lingard is also a doubt for the hosts.
PREDICTED XI (4-3-1-2): Navas; Aurier, Worrall, Felipe, Lodi; Shelvey, Freuler, Mangala; Gibbs-White; Johnson, Wood
UNAVAILABLE: Henderson (Injured), Boly (Injured), McKenna (Injured), Biancone (Injured), Kouyate (Injured), Niakhate (Injured), Richards (Injured), Awoniyi (Injured),
QUESTIONABLE: Yates (Illness), Lingard (Injured)
