Nottingham Forest head coach Nuno Espirito Santo insists Manchester City remain a top-quality side despite their poor run of form heading into Wednesday's Premier League contest.
City have gone seven games without a win in all competitions – the longest-such streak in Pep Guardiola's managerial career – with six of those ending in defeat.
Sunday's 2-0 loss at leaders Liverpool leaves the reigning champions fifth and now 11 points adrift of the Reds, but Nuno is looking beyond this poor run of form before facing off at the Etihad Stadium.
"It's the reality of the game – you always have ups and downs," Nuno said. "Every team has to be ready to face those moments of uncertainty when things are not going well.
"It's how long you stay there and how you bounce back from those moments; how you reorganise and improve. Their run doesn't take away the quality and the talent they have.
"Let's not forget, they're the champions and have won so much with such quality players and such a good manager. When you have such quality players and play such good football, for sure they'll turn it around."
Recharge and go again. pic.twitter.com/H5bQhrPL74
— Nottingham Forest (@NFFC) December 2, 2024
City are only one point and one place better off than Forest, who put back-to-back defeats against Arsenal and Newcastle United behind them with a 1-0 win over Ipswich Town at the weekend.
Guardiola, who has won 18 trophies across his eight full seasons as City boss, is determined to battle on having only just signed a new two-year contract.
"I've lived better before than now," he said. "But I'm incredibly honest with myself and, when we were winning a lot, my perspective was I was fortunate to live that.
"Now I'm not depressed that everything is going bad. When I think I cannot do it we will talk with the club but I feel that I want to do it and life is not in all departments perfect."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester City - Erling Haaland
Haaland has failed to score in back-to-back Premier League games for City, although he does still have 15 goals in his past 11 games at the Etihad Stadium in all competitions.
The leading Premier League top scorer this season, who has 12 goals in 13 matches overall, has also netted four times in two games on home soil against Forest.
Nottingham Forest - Chris Wood
Wood scored the only goal of the game in the 1-0 win over Ipswich via the penalty spot and also has 12 goals in his past 13 away Premier League away games for Forest.
The New Zealand international is looking to become the first Reds player to score in four successive away games in the competition, and the first in the English top flight for the club since Garry Birtles in 1983-84.
Ready for more? pic.twitter.com/zpomnE4CtA
— Premier League (@premierleague) December 2, 2024
MATCH PREDICTION: MAN CITY WIN
City have conceded three-plus goals in both of their past two home games in all competitions, which they last managed in 1963 when going on to be relegated from the top flight.
Guardiola's men may be in poor form, but they are unbeaten in their past eight league games against Forest stretching back to a 3-2 loss in the second tier in December 1997.
Forest have also lost their past four away league games against City by an aggregate scoreline of 12-0, while they are winless in their past seven top-flight visits since 1989.
The Reds have lost their past five away games against reigning top-flight champions by an aggregate scoreline of 21-2, meanwhile, since beating Manchester City 2-1 in December 1994.
If the omens were not already stacked against Forest, opponents City are unbeaten in their past 31 home Premier League games on a Wednesday, winning each of the past 20.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester City win - 66.8%
Nottingham Forest win - 14.8%
Draw - 18.4%
Lille 3-2 Sturm Graz: Super sub Haraldsson snatches all three points for hosts
Hakon Haraldsson climbed off the bench to score the winner, as Lille edged out Sturm Graz 3-2 at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
The Icelandic midfielder had only been on the pitch a minute when he settled the five-goal thriller, while lifting Bruno Genesio's side into the Champions League's top eight.
Osame Sahraoui drilled the hosts in front on 37 minutes, while Mitchel Bakker rounded off a sweeping move to double the lead in first-half stoppage time.
However, Sturm Graz responded before the break as Otar Kiteishvili fired into the roof of the net, before Mika Biereth turned home William Boving's cross within two minutes of the restart.
But there was to be a final twist as, nine minutes from time, substitute Haraldsson found the top corner to seal another three points for Lille.
Data Debrief: Super sub Haraldsson the hero
Haraldsson's strike sealed successive Champions League home wins in the same season for the first time for Lille, who are now unbeaten in five games.
That is their longest such streak since at least 2004-05.
Scoring more than once in a Champions League home game for the first time in 15 attempts, Lille took their tally for the season to 10 - their most in a single campaign.
Haraldsson was the hero, scoring just 56 seconds after his introduction. That is the second-quickest substitute goal in this season's Champions League, after Brest’s Mathias Pereira Lage took just 47 seconds to net against Salzburg in October.
As for Sturm Graz, their winless streak away against French opposition stretches to six matches (losing five).
Chelsea's 16-hour Conference League trip 'not normal', says Maresca
Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said it is "not normal" for a player to make the 16-hour round trip to Kazakhstan to then play on Sunday night against Brentford.
The Blues are in action in the Europa Conference League on Thursday against Astana, facing a 3,700-mile journey to Almaty, in the south of the country.
Maresca's side will play at the Almaty Central Stadium, which is 600 miles from the Kazakhstan capital, because of renovations to Astana's home stadium.
Chelsea will land back in London on Friday morning, before preparing to face Brentford in the Premier League, hoping to keep pace with league leaders Liverpool.
"Eight hours is not a normal time for a game, but we have to go there, we have to play, and we want to try to do our best, thinking also about the next game," said Maresca.
The Blues are currently top of the Conference League standings after four games, with Polish side Legia Warszawa the only other side with a 100% record in the competition.
Maresca also said a number of first-team players will be rested for the trip, including Noni Madueke, with Pedro Neto suspended for Sunday's clash against the Bees.
The Chelsea boss also confirmed that defender Josh Acheampong will be handed a first senior start after a breakthrough in contract talks.
Youth players Ato Ampah, Shumaira Mheuka, Harrison McMahon, Kaiden Wilson, Richard Olise and Harrison Murray-Campbell are in the travelling squad.
"The ones that are not involved tomorrow, first of all, they're going to be training, and they have to train well," added Maresca.
"You never know whether we might need one of the guys who play tomorrow on Sunday. Ideally, we prefer not.
"We are going to land at 6am on Friday, and it's not normal for one of them, if they land at 6am on Friday, to play again on Sunday."
"But if we need [them to], they are going to make the effort."
Adding to the long flight, temperatures are expected to be at around minus 11, though defender Axel Disasi was not worried about the conditions.
"We just have to put on two pairs of gloves and be ready to compete in these conditions," Disasi added.
"We all know the conditions of these games, it's an eight-hour flight and minus 11, so download some movies to watch on the plane, be ready to fight and keep first place."
FIFA confirms Saudi Arabia as 2034 World Cup host
FIFA have confirmed that Saudi Arabia will host the 2034 World Cup at Wednesday's Extraordinary Fifa Congress meeting following a vote.
The Middle East nation were the sole bidders for the finals in 10 years, with an online FIFA Congress voting in favour of their staging despite controversy surrounding the bid.
Morocco, Spain, and Portugal will co-host the 2030 World Cup, with the first three matches of that tournament held in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay.
The opening match of the 2030 World Cup will be played in Uruguay to mark 100 years since the inaugural 1930 finals when La Celeste beat Argentina in the showpiece match.
After that, the next two games will be staged in Argentina and Paraguay respectively, before the rest of the tournament is played in the three main co-host countries.
The agreement for South America to stage the opening games in 2030 - reached in October last year - paved the way for Saudi Arabia to be the sole host in 2034.
Australia, considered the only realistic challengers to Saudi Arabia, confirmed on October 31 last year that they would not be bidding.
The Football Association also supported the 2030 and 2034 bids, and is expected to issue a statement later explaining their decision.
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