Man City vs Nottingham Forest tips:
Manchester City take on Nottingham Forest in the second of the FA Cup semi-finals on Sunday with a chance to return to Wembley Stadium next month and compete for the final piece of domestic silverware.
For City, it is the chance to win an eighth FA Cup trophy, while Forest are seeking their third but first since beating Luton Town 2-1 to lift the trophy in 1959.
Football betting sites unsurprisingly have City, who are aiming for their third successive final, as the favourites for the competition at 6/5, while Forest are currently fourth favourites, out of four, at 11/2.
After being beaten in last year’s final by Manchester rivals United, and their disappointing league season, City will be desperate to end the season on a high and give their fans something to celebrate.
For Forest fans they have had plenty to celebrate this season, not least the 18 Premier League wins, including victories against Liverpool, United, Aston Villa, City and the 7-0 thrashing of Brighton and spending almost all season in the top four.
But winning the FA Cup would be their first cup final win since 1990, when they beat Oldham Athletic in the League Cup final, with Nigel Jemson scoring the only goal of the game.
Man City vs Nottingham Forest betting: When 90 minutes just isn’t enough
Forest have needed penalties in their last three rounds to get this far in the competition, beating Exeter City, Ipswich Town and Brighton on spot kicks. Their only outright victory came over Championship strugglers Luton in the third round, when Ryan Yates and Ramon Sosa were both on the scoresheet.
City, on the other hand, won all four of their matches, scoring an impressive 15 goals in just four games, helped largely by their 8-0 third round win over Salford City.
They also beat Leyton Orient, Plymouth Argyle and Bournemouth to reach the last four and set up this tie with Forest.
There’s not too much between them this season, and both sides have beaten the other at home so far, but what will happen on neutral territory?
Goals from Bernardo Silva, Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku earned City a 3-0 win back in December before Callum Hudson-Odoi scored the only goal of the game at the City Ground last month to give Nuno Espirito Santo’s side the win.
They are separated by just one point and one place in the league at the moment, with City leading the way in third place with 61 points but they have played one more game.
While City have scored more goals, 13 to be precise, Forest have the better defensive record, conceding four fewer than Pep Guardiola’s side.
We don’t think there will be too much to choose between these sides and it might take extra time and even penalties to separate them.
Betting sites are offering 39/50 on a City win, 15/4 for Forest to go through, or you can get 14/5 on a draw after 90 minutes. You can also get 11/1 on City to go through on penalties or 12/1 on Forest to make it four out of four.
Man City vs Nottingham Forest prediction 1: Manchester City to win in extra time - 9/1 Bet365
A fairytale end for De Bruyne
Two of the City youngsters are their leading scorers in the competition so far, with Nico O’Reilly and James McAtee having scored three goals each.
McAtee bagged a hat-trick in the 7-0 win over Salford, while O’Reilly also scored in that game before netting two in the 3-1 win over Plymouth a round later.
The young defender has five goals for the season, from 17 appearances, including two in his last three matches, where he netted first and last.
Betting apps are offering 20/1 on him scoring first, 16/1 to score last, or you can get 9/1 on him scoring at any time.
The FA Cup is about fairytales, though, and Kevin De Bruyne has already had a big say in City reaching the last four with the winning goal against Leyton Orient and a strike in added time to wrap up the 3-1 win over Plymouth.
He also scored against Forest earlier in the season and has three assists against them in just five appearances.
Since moving to City in the summer of 2015, no other player has been directly involved in more FA Cup goals than the Belgian international.
In those 10 years, he has scored 10 goals and chipped in with 18 assists in 33 appearances and you can get 15/4 on him scoring anytime or 11/1 to score first or last.
Man City vs Nottingham Forest prediction 2: Kevin De Bruyne to score or assist - 5/6 Bet365
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