Nottingham Forest – Manchester City: City Unable to Escape Nuno’s Forest (1-0)

Nottingham Forest demonstrated why they have been able to surprise the Premier League this season, as their well-organized defensive scheme was able to limit Manchester City’s attack here. The performance was rounded off by a late moment of quality from Morgan Gibbs-White and Callum Hudson-Odoi, earning them a crucial win.

Tactical analysis and match report by Josh Manley.

Nottingham Forest have been one of European football's surprise packages under Nuno Espírito Santo this season, finding themselves in third place in the Premier League coming into this game. Manchester City, meanwhile, have also produced the unexpected, but in a negative sense – they have had their worst season in nearly a decade, looking defensively and mentally fragile.

Forest lined up in a 4-2-3-1 shape for this match, with a backline of Ola Aina, Nikola Milenković, Murillo, and Neco Williams. Morgan Gibbs-White partnered Elliot Anderson in central midfield, while Nicolás Domínguez and Callum Hudson-Odoi started wide. Anthony Elanga then supported Chris Wood up front.

Pep Guardiola went with a 4-3-3 shape, with Matheus Nunes deployed at right back alongside Abdukodir Khusanov, Rúben Dias, and Joško Gvardiol in defense. Nico González was the deepest midfielder, with Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden ahead of him. Savinho and Jérémy Doku were . . .