Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest: Premier League preview, predictions and bet builder tips

• Ladbrokes previews Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest in the Premier League

• City tipped to continue their winning form with another three points at the Etihad

• Nico O'Reilly backed to impress on a fruitful evening for Pep Guardiola's side

Ladbrokes brings you an in-depth match preview for Man City vs Nottingham Forest including predictions, lineups and expert bet builder tips.

Pep Guardiola's title hopefuls kept the pressure on league leaders Arsenal with a hard-fought victory on Saturday night, and as they welcome a struggling Nottingham Forest side to the Etihad, they'll be supremely confident of picking up another three points.

Forest haven't won a Premier League game since January, and the tests don't come much tougher than Manchester City away, so the odds are stacked against them here.

Read on for our expert Man City vs Nottingham Forest bet builder, and be sure to check out our full preview of the Premier League's midweek round of fixtures.

• Fixture: Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest

• Date: Wednesday, 4 March, 2026

• Kick-off: 19:30 GMT

• Venue: Etihad Stadium

Our prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Man City

Our predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma / Nunes, Guehi, Dias, Ait-Nouri / Rodri, O'Reilly / Cherki, Silva, Semenyo / Marmoush

Nottingham Forest

Our predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Ortega / Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Williams / Sangare, Anderson / Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi / Jesus

Since playing regularly in his more natural position of midfield, Nico O'Reilly has flourished for Pep Guardiola, and we're backing the Man City man to continue his fine form with another strong performance and another shot on target against Nottingham Forest.

The 20-year-old has had at least one shot on target in each of his last three Premier League matches, and has become a hugely important player for Man City, with his versatility and physical presence making him useful in a number of positions.

The England international has scored three in his last three in the league, and against a Nottingham Forest side struggling for any sort of confidence, we're tipping O'Reilly to try his luck again in this one, registering 1+ shots on target.

To go alongside our score prediction from earlier in the piece, we're backing over 2.5 goals at the Etihad, with City showing their class and putting their struggling visitors to the sword on Wednesday night.

Man City's games this season have seen an average of 2.9 goals in the Premier League, and as one of the division's most potent attacks takes on one of the leakier defences, all the ingredients are there for a high-scoring affair in midweek.

Whether Erling Haaland is fit or not, Man City have an embarrassment of riches at the top end of the pitch, and with Pep Guardiola's side scoring two or more in 18 of their last 21 home games across all competitions, the Nottingham Forest defence could be in for a long night - so we're backing over 2.5 goals here.

Turning our attention to the visitors now, and despite Forest floundering around the bottom three, Elliot Anderson is enjoying another impressive campaign for the Reds - but we are tipping him to pick up a yellow card in a one-sided contest at the Etihad.

The combative midfielder has five yellows to his name already this season, with a booking in December's reverse fixture included in that tally, and up against the likes of Rodri and his international colleague O'Reilly, Anderson could well be dragged into a thankless battle.

The former Newcastle man averages 1.5 fouls per 90 in the Premier League, and with Anderson also making around three tackles per game, he's going to be right in the thick of the action again here - and we're tipping him to get another booking.

Rounding off our Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest preview & predictions, we're tipping the title-chasing hosts to claim another routine victory and pile the pressure on title favourites Arsenal, with Forest's winless run stretching to six Premier League games.

City continue to be the hunter in this season's dramatic title race, with six consecutive wins in all competitions proving they're not going anywhere - and having won five of the last seven meetings with Forest, including all of the last three at the Etihad, their chances of picking up another maximum look very strong here.

It's that time of the season where City tend to hit their stride, and with relegation-threatened Forest in their way, we don't anticipate too many problems on Wednesday night - with the hosts winning comfortably.

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All odds and markets are correct as of the date of publication.