Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City predictions, odds and betting tips

Forest vs Man City best bets

Nottingham Forest to score first – 7/5 with bet365
Manchester City over 15.5 shots – 4/6 with Paddy Power
Chris Wood to score any time – 37/20 with BetMGM

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester odds

Find the latest match odds for Nottingham Forest vs Manchester. All odds are provided by our best football betting sites. Odds are subject to change.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City predictions

With the title race done and dusted and the relegation battle heading the way, most of the intrigue in the last few months of the Premier League season is centred on the fight for Champions League qualification.

Liverpool will take one of the spots and another will almost certainly go to Arsenal. That leaves three berths up for grabs.

There are plenty of contenders. Manchester City are the favourites with the bookies to come in behind Liverpool and Arsenal. It has even been opined that they could still pip Arsenal to second.

Chelsea remain in the mix despite a collapse in their results since the middle of December, while Newcastle United and Aston Villa are desperate to return to Europe’s top table having both got a recent taste of it.

Then there are the surprise packages. Bournemouth are punching above their weight to a spectacular degree under Andoni Iraola, whom they may struggle to keep hold of over the summer.

Fulham and Brighton & Hove Albion are outsiders but cannot be ruled out yet, but it is Nottingham Forest who are best positioned to upset the apple cart (suggestions that they might obliterate it à la Leicester City of 2015/16 proved to be a bridge too far).

However, there are signs that they have gone slightly off the boil of late. Forest have only won one of their last five games in the Premier League, and just one of their last seven in all competitions.

They might be third in the table, but Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are still outsiders with the bookies to qualify for the Champions League. They would drop to fourth with a defeat here and fifth if they were to lose and Chelsea were to beat Leicester.

On the plus side, they are not facing the imperious City of old. Pep Guardiola’s team have looked better since adding Omar Marmoush and Abdukodir Khusanov to their squad in January, but they are still far from their best.

Even so, City have the talent in their squad to beat anyone on their day. They may have lost to Arsenal, Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid in 2025, but Forest – for all their qualities – are not quite at the level of those sides. Not yet, anyway.

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City betting tips

Who will triumph as two top-five contenders lock horns in the East Midlands?

Nottingham Forest to score first

Nottingham Forest’s success this season owes a lot to their ability to get out of the blocks quickly.

Nuno’s men have opened the scoring 20 times in 2024/25; no Premier League team has broken the deadlock as often as Forest.

When they establish a lead, Forest usually go on to win. Their counter-attacking game plan is well suited to soaking up pressure and then breaking forward at speed.

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Whether or not they triumph on Saturday is another question, but this bet represents excellent value given their capacity for drawing first blood.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that City have conceded the first goal on 12 occasions, more than the likes of Everton and Fulham, and only two fewer than relegation-threatened Ipswich Town.

Tip Nottingham Forest to score first at 7/5 with bet365

Manchester City over 15.5 shots

For all their problems over the last few months, Manchester City still know where the goal is. Only Liverpool have found the back of the net more often in the Premier League this term.

Jeremy Doku and Erling Haaland have recently returned to full fitness, while Marmoush’s arrival in the winter window has taken some of the load off the Norway international.

Guardiola has an abundance of attacking options at his disposal, so City will pose a major threat no matter who starts on Saturday.

Again, only Liverpool have taken more shots than the reigning champions, while Forest rank seventh for attempts conceded.

Nuno’s team do not mind giving up shots; instead, they focus on getting bodies in between the ball and the goal. City will likely pull the trigger 16 times or more.

Go for Manchester City to take over 15.5 shots at Paddy Power

Chris Wood to score any time

What a season Chris Wood is having.

A journeyman centre-forward whose best Premier League goal return prior to 2024/25 was 14, Wood is on course to break the 20 mark this term – and then some.

The New Zealand international has beaten opposition goalkeepers 18 times up to now, combining smart movement with lethal finishing.

Wood has always been a handful in the air, but it is his ability to convert chances with either foot that has really caught the eye this year.

Manchester City will have to be at their defensive best to keep Wood under wraps in this one.

Choose Chris Wood to score any time at 37/20 with BetMGM bet365

How to watch Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City

Location: City Ground, Nottingham, England.
Date and time: Saturday 8th March, 12.30pm.
How to watch: TNT Sports 1.

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Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City predictions, odds and betting tips

Forest vs Man City best bets

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester odds

Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City predictions