Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Sport
Alex Brotherton

Man City will be wary of familiar foe against Nottingham Forest on Wednesday

Manchester City will play their second home game in the space of four days when Nottingham Forest visit the Etihad Stadium on Wednesday evening, but they will need to be alert to ensure a familiar foe does not come back to bite them.

City have started the season in strong fashion, winning three of their four games and scoring 13 goals in the process. However, in their last two outings they have fallen two goals behind before fighting back, earning a 3-3 draw at Newcastle and a 4-2 win against Crystal Palace on Saturday.

In theory, Forest should not provide as stiff opposition as Newcastle and Palace did. The newly promoted side have taken a respectable four points from their opening four games, but as Bournemouth learned two weeks ago, City show newly promoted teams no mercy when they visit the Etihad.

READ MORE: Two Man City players could have new roles after Pep Guardiola experiments

Things don't always pan out as expected though, and a certain Jesse Lingard will be hoping that is the case on Wednesday.

Some City fans may scoff - the 29-year-old attacker at times appeared to care more about dancing and social media than playing during his time at Manchester United - but Lingard has caused City some headaches in the past.

Back in December 2019 Lingard drew several good saves out of Ederson as he helped United to a 2-1 win at the Etihad in Ole Gunnar-Solskjaer's first Manchester derby as United boss.

The following season he again impressed at the Etihad but as a West Ham player, setting up Michail Antonio to score his side's equaliser in a 2-1 City win.

Lingard will now walk out onto the pitch in the red of Nottingham Forest, a team that have brought in plenty of new faces over the summer but who are slowly starting to gel.

Lingard has put in some decent performances of late - in Forest's 2-0 defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, he created the joint-most chances (3), was the joint-most fouled player (3) and was the most accurate passer of the ball (96% pass completion).

City will of course be focused on their own game, but don't be surprised if a familiar foe pops up and puts himself front and centre stage.

ALSO READ:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.