Sports
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United predictions: Home comforts can help Forest
– Manchester United has won just two of their previous six away domestic games.
– Nottingham Forest has gone unbeaten in their last eight home games.
Everything was going well for Erik ten Hag’s team the week they qualified for this Carabao Cup semi-final; their victories over Charlton in the quarterfinal and Manchester City in the Premier League had their fans daydreaming of success on all fronts.
However, the Red Devils’ fleeting aspirations of a league title push were dashed by draws against Crystal Palace and a demoralizing loss against Arsenal that quickly followed, leading them into this week’s game at a low ebb.
Their League Cup aspirations will now be put to the test in the East Midlands when they take on a revitalized Nottingham Forest team that is progressively edging away from the Premier League relegation zone.
At the City Ground, Forest have evolved from whipping boys to dangerous underdogs in recent months, and manager Steve Cooper will be eager to take advantage of home advantage to secure a crucial first-leg edge.
Team news
Dean Henderson, Forest’s on-loan goalkeeper, is out for a few weeks with a thigh tear and was already unable to play against his original club, but former United winger Jesse Lingard might play against them after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Due to groin and hamstring ailments, forward Taiwo Awoniyi and midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate will be out until March, respectively, while defender Giulian Biancone will miss the entire season due to an ACL tear.
Left-back Omar Richards, whose hairline leg fracture is almost healed, will soon be able to play again. Moussa Niakhate, the center back who has missed most of the season due to a hamstring injury, should also be back in a few weeks.
Ryan Yates, a midfielder, is a slight doubt because of sickness.
Anthony Martial of United will undergo a late fitness test to determine whether he can return from a thigh injury, but full-back Diogo Dalot will not go to the City Ground due to a related issue.
While attacking midfielder Donny van de Beek is out for the remainder of the season with a knee injury, defensive midfielder Casemiro is back from his suspension. Attacker Jadon Sancho is still sidelined as well.
The stats
The 3-0 triumph over Forest by United at the end of January was a part of an amazing run of 10 straight victories at Old Trafford, but Ten Hag’s team hasn’t been quite as potent away from home.
Even those two successes, a 93rd-minute winner at Fulham and a late 1-0 victory at struggling Wolves, were far from convincing for United, who have won just two of their previous six domestic away games.
The Red Devils may struggle at the City Ground after losses at Arsenal and Aston Villa and draws at Crystal Palace and Chelsea.
Cooper’s team is steadily getting better away from home, as they have gone eight games without losing and defeated Liverpool and Tottenham in the league and Carabao Cup.
They have also held Chelsea and Brentford in a sequence of four wins and four draws, with one of those ties ending in a penalty shootout victory over Wolves in the last round of this competition.
Prediction
In their last 11 games, Forest has lost just twice, and one of those losses can be discounted because Cooper used a reserve squad in the FA Cup loss at Blackpool.
Even though the other setback was a humiliating loss to United, Cooper will be confident of winning the first leg since he has finally put together a tough and dangerous team with his summer wave of additions.
After recent defeats, Ten Hag’s team’s morale has taken a hit, and the United manager will need to keep switching up his lineup because the team has 10 games scheduled over the next five weeks.
A club that had only kept one clean sheet in their previous eight domestic away games looks likely to surrender against in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-final, so adding both teams to score to Bet Builder picks makes sense. He will likely rest a few of his players for this encounter.
However, an in-form and focused Forest side will be aiming higher than simply finding the net against their vaunted visitors and Cooper’s men look value to make home advantage count.
