Manchester City vs. Nottingham Forest 8/31/22 EPL Soccer Picks, Predictions, Odds

Manchester City and Nottingham Forest face off on Wednesday in an English Premier League showdown at Etihad Stadium. The last time these two teams faced off was 13 years ago in the FA Cup. 

Manchester City has played well to start the season, and they currently sit in second place in the standings having picked up 10 points. Manchester City hasn’t been as dominant as in years past to start the season, but they could be starting off a run. In the last game against Crystal Palace, they fell behind 2-0, and they were down that at halftime. In the second half, Erling Haaland scored three goals and paced them to a 4-2 victory. Manchester City ended the game with five shots on goal, and four went in the back of the net. Man City has scored 13 goals this season while giving up five. Haaland has been the star, scoring six goals. Man City is still banged up heading into this game, and they are again expected to be without Aymeric Laporte, Jack Grealish, and Kalvin Phillips.

On the other side of this matchup is Nottingham Forest, who sit in 14th place having picked up four points. Nottingham has been inconsistent heading into this game, but they are coming off a loss in their last game. They didn’t look awful against Tottenham Hotspur, but they couldn’t find any offense, and they ended up losing 2-0. Nottingham Forest has scored two goals this season while giving up five goals. The team just signed Renan Lodi, and he could be on the bench for this game. There are also some indications that Jesse Lingard could move to the bench. In this game, Nottingham needs the defense to be good, or this is going to be a long game. 

This game is going to be high scoring. Manchester City is going to have very few issues here attacking the Forest defense, and they will finish with at least three goals. Manchester City’s defense has had issues, though, and Nottingham will do enough to find the back of the net once. Back the over 3.5 to cash.