Manchester United - Nottingham Forest Prediction and Analysis
Manchester United host Nottingham Forest in this match after both teams got their season off to a good start.
Each of them managed to win over two of the top teams in the Championship in the last 16 of the League Cup.
While the Red Devils beat leaders Burnley 2-0, Forest eliminated another promotion contender, Blackburn.
Today, though, I'm going hard on United for a second home run in a row at the Theater of Dreams.
It seems that after the removal of Cristiano Ronaldo from the team, the situation in Man Yun's dressing room has returned to normal.
The last 6 matches between these two rivals date back to the 90s of the 20th century.
But in them Manchester United took 6 consecutive victories , and in each of them there were 3+ goals.
I will not be surprised if we witness a similar scenario today.
As Nottingham's defense is the second worst in the Premier League with 30 goals conceded in 15 games.
And like nothing the home team would cover the 2.5 goals line themselves to make the prediction a winner.
Manchester United - info
It's fair to say that Manchester United have made a mixed start to the 2022/23 campaign.
There were a number of bad moments - back-to-back defeats to Brentford and Brighton, a loss to local rivals Man City.
As well as several highs, including triumphs over Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham at Old Trafford.
Man Yoon is still a work in progress under Eric ten Haag.
But there were signs before the break that things were starting to pick up for the Dutchman .
The Red Devils celebrated a victory in the last round of the Premier League over Fulham.
The winning goal was then scored by the teenager Alejandro Garnacho.
They lost just one of their last seven Premier League games before the World Cup break (4-2-1).
It wasn't enough for Manchester United to break into the top four.
But they can easily climb into the Champions League qualification spots before the start of 2023.
As they are just three points off the top 4 before this round.
Although it's worth noting that their clean sheet (20-20) is worse than the teams around them in the table.
However, Man Yun is clearly moving in the right direction .
Cristiano Ronaldo's departure should serve them well by removing a disruptive influence from the dressing room.
Ten Haag's position was strengthened as a result of the ending surrounding this saga.
And that should help the former Ajax head coach move forward successfully.
Chelsea vs Bournemouth Prediction
Nottingham Forest - info
Nottingham Forest were also showing signs of life before the World Cup in Qatar got underway.
After signing 22 players in the summer , Steve Cooper's side have slowly emerged from a difficult start in the top flight.
After the promotion he won via the play-offs in the Championship.
It's no surprise that it took the manager a while to create a cohesive team from so many disparate parts.
Nottingham had won just one of their opening 11 games and an instant return to the second tier seemed inevitable.
But a 1-0 win against Liverpool kicked off a run in which Forest have lost just one of 5 official matches .
Beating Tottenham, Palace and Blackburn and finishing level with Brentford during that time.
And the only loss in this period was against the leader in the Premier League - Arsenal.
Cooper's side remain in the relegation zone. But it's now the 18th instead of the 20th.
And a win at Old Trafford could be enough to get them over the line .
That would be a big boost for Nottingham Forest in the new year.
Still, there is still much work to be done.
Only Bournemouth have conceded more goals than Forest . Who will hardly avoid relegation if they don't tighten up in defense.
On the other side, only last Wolverhampton have a weaker attack than Nottingham .
The guests will be hoping that a few weeks off has done them good.
Giving manager Cooper plenty of time on the training ground to work on a new look for the squad.
Only time will tell if that turns out to be the case.
But an improved performance here will give Nottingham new hope that they can extend their stay in the top flight for at least 1 more season.
Squads and injured footballers
Manchester United
Lineup: De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Anthony, Fernandes, Rashford; Martial
Injured: Tuanzebe
Substitutes: Dalot, Martinez, Varane, Maguire, Sancho
Nottingham Forest
Lineup: Hennessy; Williams, Worrell, Boley, Toffolo; Yeats, Mangala, Kolback; Johnson, Avoni, Lingard
Injuries: Richards, Biancone, Kouyate, Niachate
Substitutes: Aurier, Gibbs-White, Hennessy
Out : Henderson
League standings and form
| # | Team | M | P | R | H | OG | DG | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 14 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 33 | 11 | 37 | |
| 2 | Man City | 14 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 40 | 14 | 32 | |
| 3 | Newcastle | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 29 | 11 | 30 | |
| 4 | Tottenham | 15 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 31 | 21 | 29 | |
| 5 | Man Yun | 14 | 8 | 2 | 4 | 20 | 20 | 26 | |
| 6 | Liverpool | 14 | 6 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 17 | 22 | |
| 7 | Brighton | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 23 | 19 | 21 | |
| 8 | Chelsea | 14 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 17 | 17 | 21 | |
| 9 | Fulham | 15 | 5 | 4 | 6 | 24 | 26 | 19 | |
| 10 | Brentford | 15 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 25 | 19 | |
| 11 | Palace | 14 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 18 | 19 | |
| 12 | Aston Villa | 15 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 18 | |
| 13 | Leicester | 15 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 25 | 25 | 17 | |
| 14 | Bournemouth | 15 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 18 | 32 | 16 | |
| 15 | Leeds | 14 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 22 | 26 | 15 | |
| 16 | West Ham | 15 | 4 | 2 | 9 | 12 | 17 | 14 | |
| 17 | Everton | 15 | 3 | 5 | 7 | 11 | 17 | 14 | |
| 18 | Nottingham | 15 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 30 | 13 | |
| 19 | Southampton | 15 | 3 | 3 | 9 | 13 | 27 | 12 | |
| 20 | Wolves | 15 | 2 | 4 | 9 | 8 | 24 | 10 |
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