Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United

Nottingham Forest and Manchester United are set to trade tackles at the City Ground in their sign-off 2023 Premier League encounter.

New Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo couldn’t have hoped for a more frustrating start to his third managerial stint in the Premier League as Bournemouth’s last-gasp winner condemned his side to a 3-2 home loss on his touchline debut. However, the Portuguese manager orchestrated arguably Forest’s best performance of 2023/24 as the ‘Tricky Trees’ humbled Newcastle United 3-1 on Boxing Day. In doing so, Forest became just the third Premier League side to take three points at St James’ Park this season, moving two points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town. You’d assume the impending return to the City Ground would put Espirito Santo’s side in the driver’s seat to build on a resounding success on Tyneside. Yet the hosts have lost their last four top-flight outings on home turf, conceding multiple goals on three occasions.

On the other hand, Erik ten Hag was 45 minutes away from receiving his marching orders at Old Trafford before his Manchester United side pulled off a sensational second-half comeback to beat Aston Villa 3-2 after falling two goals behind in midweek Premier League action. After arresting an underwhelming four-game scoring drought in all competitions and whittling down the gap on the Premier League top four to six points, the ‘Red Devils’ take this trip in a buoyant mood despite going winless on their last three top-flight travels (D1, L2). Indeed, they’ve reigned supreme against Forest, winning their last 11 competitive H2Hs, including a memorable 3-2 turnaround in the reverse fixture at Old Trafford, where they found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening four minutes of play.