Nottingham Forest Vs Manchester City Highlights, EPL 2025-26: Guardiola’s Men Survive Tricky Trees To Claim 2-1 Victory

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of Nottingham Forest Vs Manchester City on matchday 18 of the English Premier League 2025-26. Stay tuned for all the live scores, updates and more.

Fixture: Nottingham Forest Vs Manchester City

Date: Saturday, December 27, 2025

Time: 06:00 IST

Venue: City Ground, Nottingham

Nottingham Forest  Victor; Savona, Murillo, Milkenkovic, Williams;  Anderson, Dominguez; Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White, Hutchinson; Igor Jesus.

Substitutes  Sels, Morato, Awoniyi, Douglas Luiz, Kalimuendo, McAtee, Bakwa, Zinchenko.

Manchester City  Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Nico Gonzalez, Bernardo Silva, Reijnders; Foden, Cherki; Haaland.

Substitutes  Trafford, Ake, Rodri, Savinho, Khusanov, McAidoo, Mukasa, Lewis, R Heskey.

The first half gets underway at the City Ground as Nottingham Forest and Manchester City kick off, with the Tricky Trees looking to start on the front foot against the Cityzens’ early pressure.

Early drama at the City Ground as VAR checks a potential penalty after Cherki goes down following a clever lob from the left, but the on-field call stands and play continues.

Anderson flashes a dangerous ball into the box but Gvardiol clears, as Forest continue to threaten on the break with wide pace and Gibbs-White’s late surges into the area.

Forest work a smart set-piece after Igor Jesus holds it up well, Murillo and Milenkovic combine in the air, and sustained pressure down the right ends with Savona’s teasing cross diverted behind for a corner as the Tricky Trees keep City pinned back.

Anderson steps in with a vital tackle, City quickly regain possession and Reijnders feeds Foden, whose sharp first-time effort is blocked by Murillo to keep it goalless.

Forest have edged the clearer chances and look well worth their clean sheet, with Igor Jesus leading the press superbly. City control possession but struggle to break through a compact, disciplined Forest defence, leaving it finely poised at the interval.

Second half underway at the City Ground with Nottingham Forest and Manchester City still locked at 0–0, as the Tricky Trees look to maintain their discipline against the Cityzens’ pressure.

Cherki unlocks the defence with a sublime reverse pass after Gvardiol’s involvement, and Reijnders times his run perfectly before sweeping a calm finish past John Victor to break the deadlock.

A superb team move from the Tricky Trees as Gibbs-White and Hudson-Odoi surge forward, Igor Jesus slips a brilliant pass through the box, and Hutchinson finishes crisply on the half-volley to punish City and level it up.

Anderson continues to run the show with his passing, Williams curls a fierce effort from range that Donnarumma pushes away, and Savona lashes over the rebound, only for the flag to go up for offside.

Tempers flare as Guardiola is booked, and Forest nearly cash in when Anderson’s wicked free-kick causes chaos, Milenkovic’s effort smashing into Gvardiol and flying over the bar.

City retake the lead amid Forest protests as Foden’s corner finds Gvardiol at the back post, the knockdown drops perfectly for Cherki, and he rifles a skidding half-volley from 18 yards past a helpless John Victor.

City probe patiently down the right before Foden tries his luck, with Haaland calling for a cross that never comes, while Forest freshen things up as Bakwa replaces Hudson-Odoi.

Pep Guardiola smiles at the final whistle after a hard-fought win, with City holding on in a tight contest where Forest’s press and intensity tested them throughout.

Thank You for joining us.