Nottingham Forest

There are some games that give you hope. Games where you do not feel like the fourth-worst team in the division. Games where the team gave their all and, although they came away with nothing, you gave one of the best sides in the world a run for their money.

Doing well, of course, does not give you points. And with three games to go, feeling good about ourselves is not enough.

But play as we did against Manchester City for the remaining three matches and we should be OK.

Quite why we have not reverted to a back three until now is a question, especially when we have been overrun in midfield on occasion.

However, it is evident what we have missed in Willy Boly. With that assuredness at the back, the experience he brought to the defence seemed to permeate through the ranks.

Ola Aina’s swashbuckling display up and down the left wing, in tandem with Callum Hudson-Odoi, meant the ongoing absence of Nuno Tavares is not of due concern.

However, it is the injury-ridden season of Taiwo Awoniyi that is perhaps the greatest loss.

Chris Wood may have had quite the purple patch, but without another proven striker available it is a heavy burden up front.

Could Awoniyi return before the end of the season and deliver the composure we need in front of goal? We can only hope.

Pat Riddell can be found at The Famous Club, external

Image source, Getty Images

The Key Match Incident Panel is independent and made up of three former players or coaches, one Premier League representative and one from the Professional Game Match Officials Board, the referees' body.

It reviews the big refereeing decisions from each Premier League round of fixtures and unanimously agreed Nottingham Forest should have been given a penalty when Everton's Ashley Young brought down Callum Hudson-Odoi in the 55th minute.

"Young inherits the risk by going to ground from the wrong side and Hudson-Odoi beats him to the ball. It is a foul," the panel wrote in its decisions, seen by BBC Sport.

"It was felt unanimously that a penalty should have been awarded and VAR should have intervened on the basis that Young doesn't make any contact on the ball and that there is evidence that his contact with Hudson-Odoi has the consequence of tripping the attacker."

They also voted 5-0 that VAR should have intervened.

The panel was split 3-2 over the on-pitch decision over whether Forest should have been awarded a spot-kick when the ball hit Young's arm in the 44th minute, but all agreed VAR was correct not to intervene.

They argued it was a subjective call but "the majority considered this a dynamic situation where the arm was in a justifiable position, and with no clear action to deliberately handle the ball. In addition the close proximity from which the ball was played by the attacker was taken into account".

They also agreed, in a 5-0 decision, that Young's 24th-minute challenge on Reyna did not warrant a penalty and that VAR was correct not to step in.

The panel wrote: "The ball isn't played, there is contact by the defender on the attacker but any contact is minimal and is exaggerated by the attacker, and falls below the high threshold for a penalty."

Image source, Getty Images

Premier League clubs have voted in favour of adopting an anchoring economic model, which will be linked to the earnings of the bottom club (tv and prize money).

The proposed system would operate like a spending cap.

The next stage is final analysis and drafting of rules, which will potentially be put to clubs at an AGM in June.

The model will be presented to clubs and - should clubs vote in favour then - it will replace the Profit and Sustainability Rules currently in place, from the 2025-26 season onwards.

Any new element of the financial system would come in shadow next season, to fully replace PSR in 2025-26.

“We will obviously wait to see further details of these specific proposals, but we have always been clear that we would oppose any measure that would place a ‘hard’ cap on player wages," said the PFA

“There is an established process in place to ensure that proposals like this, which would directly impact our members, have to be properly consulted on.”

Aston Villa, Manchester City and Manchester United opposed the vote, with Chelsea abstaining.

We asked for your views on Sunday's match between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City.

Here are some of your answers:

Forest fans

Fosi: We played very well but we just didn't take our chances. It was just about our best performance for a long time. If we repeat this performance, we will stay up!

Mark: Nottingham Forest were certainly not overwhelmed by Manchester City. If only they could finish the chances they create. Well played Forest.

Fin: A very poor side that would struggle in the Championship. They tried to buy success and bought very poorly. They broke up a good side who got them promotion in the first place and sacked an excellent manager in Steve Cooper. Now they are going downhill fast, while blaming everyone else.

City fans

Usama: We weren’t at our best, that's for sure, but the belief with this group is apparent for all to see. The confidence and trust they have in one another helps us to see out games like this one. These are the sorts of attributes a team needs to win titles after titles, just like City have done in the past few years. We go again next Saturday.

Natalie: What a sloppy game from City. Being clinical in front of goal is a must, which Forest will be disappointed about. I think Pep will be having some strong words before the next game. That being said, job done and there are just four more games to go! Come on City.

Scott: A really good 'get the job done' performance. At times, we were very sloppy with our passing game and Forest were exceptional with their use of pace on the counter-attack, making for an excellent game of football between two sides fighting for very different prizes. Four games still to play and we hold our fate in our own hands.

Rhiannon: A really good performance. Gvardiol was excellent, getting another goal for us. Hopefully we can keep this run of form up until the last game.

Image source, Getty Images

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards says Nottingham Forest looked the best they have been all season and "caused all sorts of problems" for Manchester City.

"Nottingham Forest were really good for an hour," said Edwards on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily Podcast. "It was as well as I had seen them play this season.

"They caused Manchester City all sorts of problems. Chris Wood had so many chances, to the point he will be having nightmares about the shocking first miss.

"They piled the pressure on City but then they brought on Erling Haaland and he had one chance and takes it clinically."

Queens Park Rangers captain Asmir Begovic added: "You do not get many chances against Manchester City so when you do not take them it is inevitable you will get punished."

Listen to the full discussion on BBC Sounds

With Everton and Brentford sealing their Premier League survival, only three teams are left in the fight against relegation this season - Nottingham Forest, Luton Town and Burnley - with just two points separating the three teams at the bottom of the table.

Former Premier League midfielder Michael Brown has been discussing the survival race on BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily Sports Report: "Well, my former team Sheffield United didn't have enough.

"Then you have Burnley, they are not going away and they are keeping up that fight.

"Luton have surprised everybody so much this season, but they are now falling away with some poor results. They had some good home games that you would have expected them to get some results in, given the way they have gone about things this season.

"Nottingham Forest are under that pressure as well.

"So, who is going to do it? I think Forest are the favourites at this moment in time, but what an end to the season it is going to be at the bottom of the league."

Listen to the full podcast on BBC Sounds

Mark Chapman introduces highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the best of the action on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch highlights of Saturday' seven games on Match of the Day here

Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live match commentaries in full:

• Tottenham 2-3 Arsenal

• Nottingham Forest 0-2 Man City

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo has been speaking to BBC Match of the Day following the defeat: "I think we played a good game, definitely. Organised and compact, but some aspects that we did not do so well.

"A lot of offensive situations we could have done better with - it is not easy to create so many of those situations against City at the same time that they control [the game].

"I'm disappointed with the result, but it was a good performance."

On changing to a back five: "It is easy to explain. We wanted to add an extra body in the box and make the most of Willy Boly, who is important for us. Then we wanted to try to play the counter-attack. It is clear for everyone what the plan was."

On Willy Boly's return: "He struggled at times, especially in the last moments of the game. Also, Murillo was struggling. Let's see how they are for the next one. It is important that they recover well."

On if taking chances was the difference today: "Yes, that is one aspect of it. Also, when City go ahead it is very difficult because they keep the ball and don't give you many chances.

"But the boys worked hard - very, very hard. I am proud."

Image source, Getty Images

After a week of drama, controversy and attention off the pitch, it was time for Nottingham Forest to do some talking on it.

While they still remain just one point above the drop zone, this was an encouraging performance from Nuno Espirito Santo's side with plenty of chances created against a title-chasing side.

Chris Wood missed several excellent chances - nodding a header over the bar and struggling to sort his feet out for two simple tap-ins - while Neco Williams was a threat before having to come off with an apparent muscle injury.

There will be no statement against the officials issued after this one, but perhaps they have a delivered a statement of intent on the field having won just two of their last 15 games.

Games against Sheffield United, Chelsea, and what could prove to be a decisive fixture against Burnley on the last day of the season will determine Forest's future in the Premier League.

Based on this performance against the defending champions, they can take confidence. But they must not rely on anyone but themselves for survival.

Image source, Getty Images

Former Newcastle United winger Chris Waddle has been discussing Nottingham Forest's chances of Premier League survival on BBC Radio 5 Live: "Manchester City dominated possession, as expected.

"Nottingham Forest had their moments and, for an hour, were in the game.

"City were not at their best. They were maybe a little bit leggy, having played against Brighton the other day, but if Forest put in this kind of performance again - I think they will be safe."

BBC Radio 5 Live commentator John Murray added: "With the chances that Nottingham Forest have missed, they only have themselves to blame."

Here are the key facts and figures following Sunday’s game between Nottingham Forest and Manchester City in the Premier League.

• Manchester City have won eight of their last nine Premier League away games (D1) and have now won more games on their travels this season in the competition (12) than they managed in the whole of last season (11).

• After winning two of their first three Premier League games under Nuno Espirito Santo (L1), Nottingham Forest have since won just two of their past 15 games in the competition (D4 L9). The Reds have now suffered more league defeats this season (19) than in the whole of last season (18).

• Nottingham Forest have conceded 23 Premier League goals from set pieces, excluding penalties, this season. In the competition's history, only Fulham in 2013-14 (28), Tottenham in 2007-08 (26) and West Brom in 2010-11 (24) have ever shipped more set piece goals in a single campaign.

• Since the start of last season, Kevin De Bruyne has assisted Erling Haaland 11 times in the Premier League, which is at least three more than any other player has assisted a single teammate in this time.

• After not scoring in any of his first 32 appearances for Manchester City in all competitions, Josko Gvardiol has since scored three goals in his past five appearances for the club.

• Pep Guardiola oversaw his 300th Premier League game in charge of Manchester City, making him only the fifth manager to take charge of that many games with a single club in the competition, after Arsene Wenger (828 with Arsenal), Alex Ferguson (810 with Manchester United), David Moyes (427 with Everton) and Jurgen Klopp (331 with Liverpool).

Erling Haaland marked his return with a goal as Manchester City kept up the pressure on leaders Arsenal with victory over Nottingham Forest.

The Norwegian striker missed two games through injury but came off the bench in the 62nd minute at the City Ground.

He slotted into the left corner nine minutes later to wrap up the points and keep City a point behind Arsenal, the Premier League front-runners.

City went ahead 32 minutes in as Josko Gvardiol scored with a powerful near-post header from Kevin de Bruyne's in-swinging corner.

That came while Forest's Neco Williams was off the pitch receiving treatment for an injury, which he subsequently had to go off for.

Pep Guardiola's City have a game in hand over Arsenal, but may still need to win all of their games between now and the end of the season to secure a record fourth consecutive Premier League title.

This was a far from comfortable afternoon for the visitors as Forest disrupted their flow and created a number of good opportunities.

Based on this performance, it is hard to believe Nuno Espirito Santo's side are in a relegation fight, but they remain just one point above the drop zone.

After a tumultuous time off the pitch, in which they have criticised refereeing standards, this was a determined display from Forest, but they ultimately paid the price for missed chances.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Forest fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, City fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Three matches make up Sunday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

Follow live text updates here

Listen to all three games on BBC Sounds:

• Bournemouth v Brighton - from 14:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Tottenham v Arsenal - from 14:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Nottingham Forest v Manchester City - from 16:30 BST on BBC Radio 5 Live

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on Andy Bell and Steve Queralt from Ride, who support Arsenal and Tottenham.

Sutton's prediction: 1-2

Manchester City were so impressive against Brighton on Thursday. There would have been some Arsenal fans who switched the TV on, hoping to see their title rivals slip up - but they had wrapped the game up by half-time.

When you see City perform like that, you think who can get near them... but I have a feeling this game is going to be a lot closer for the defending champions.

Nottingham Forest have shown us plenty of times before that they can be stubborn at home - including when Chris Wood got them a point late on against City there last season - and I don't think they will be swatted aside so easily.

The crowd is going to be raucous, contesting every decision that goes against Forest after the outcry from the club over the officiating in last week's defeat by Everton.

The officials did get one of the three incidents in question wrong, because Ashley Young's challenge on Callum Hudson-Odoi was a penalty.

But what worried me was seeing Forest defender Neco Williams come out afterwards, saying the same things happen every week, and how the top-six teams would not get those calls against them.

What are Forest manager Nuno Espirito Santo and his players focusing on? If they are going into games thinking about who is the referee or who is on video assistant referee duty then they are taking their eye off the thing that really matters, which is their performance levels on the pitch.

On Sunday they are playing against a team where they really can't afford to lose their focus. They are capable of giving City a good game but keeping their concentration is the key.

Steve's prediction: 0-2

It's going to be a walk in the park for City.

Andy's prediction: 1-2

I can't quite condemn Forest to not getting a goal.

Read the rest of their predictions here

Image source, Getty Images

On Friday, Luton Town manager Rob Edwards was asked about Nottingham Forest's tweet last Sunday about the VAR in their game at Everton, Stuart Attwell, being a Hatters fan.

The Reds were disappointed to not be awarded at least one of three strong penalty claims and in the aftermath of the game said they were "considering their options".

"I don't think anyone can question the integrity of our officials, first and foremost," said Edwards. "I don't know who supports who and obviously then we have been brought into it so I understand why you're talking about it.

"I certainly don't want to be questioning any of the officials' integrity - they've got a difficult enough job. Mistakes can happen and people can feel aggrieved and we can maybe stick to that rather than question anything else

"There is so much scrutiny with what is said - everything that I'm saying right now. You've always got to be careful with that."

Nottingham Forest are one point clear of Luton Town with four games left in the battle to stay in the Premier League.

Here is a selection of the key facts and figures before Nottingham Forest host Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, 16:30 BST.

• Nottingham Forest have lost just three of their past 16 top-flight home games against Manchester City - in 1985, 1990 and 1993.

• City have lost both of their Premier League games in the Midlands so far this season, going down 2-1 at Wolves and 1-0 at Aston Villa. They last lost three consecutive such visits between March and December 2008.

• Forest have kept just one clean sheet in their past 23 Premier League games, with that coming via a 2-0 win over West Ham in February.

• Pep Guardiola will become the 19th manager to take charge of 300 Premier League games in this match, and just the fifth to do so for a single club. Six of the last seven bosses to do so have lost their milestone match - the exception being a 3-0 win for Jurgen Klopp against Aston Villa earlier this season.

• Nuno Espirito Santo has won three of his past five Premier League encounters with City, including his most recent one with Spurs in August 2021 (1-0). In fact, the Portuguese has lost just one of his four home top-flight matches against Pep Guardiola, a 1-3 loss to Wolves in September 2020.

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo faced the media before Sunday’s home Premier League game with Manchester City.

Here are the headlines:

• Nuno was asked about whether referees are relying on VAR too much in their decision making: "I can speak and tell my opinion and try to be honest. The general feeling in football is referees are not taking their own decisions so this is affecting a lot. They are not taking their decisions and waiting for the VAR to intervene and it is not helping the situation. Referees are the authority on the pitch and then VAR should help. What we want is to move forward."

• He continued: "My personal feeling is about referees not taking decisions on the pitch. They were doing it before so they should do it again and then comes VAR, not the other way around. The other way around is a huge mistake for the game. When it came, I supported it but maybe, one day not much ahead of us, we will say football was better before VAR because it’s been a mess."

• He said Forest's stance on not being awarded three penalties against Everton las week is not a personal issue with the VAR Stuart Attwell: "We don’t want things to go much further and it becomes personal or abusive to the referees. Try to understand us and put yourself in our skin. We don’t want things to go much further - we want to keep things on the game and on the issues we can control. But it’s so many things. It’s not just the recent games. It goes on and on and on and on. That’s why we feel so much anger."

• On his feelings following that game: "I still can’t quite believe it. How the decisions went against us. It’s very clear - the three penalties. It has a big impact as it eventually means points, it means frustration and disappointment. It feels like it’s always against us."

• However, he has not heard the audio recording from the game of the officials: "I have not. I don’t know, it didn’t listen to it so I don’t know the situation with the audio."

• Finally, Taiwo Awoniyi is slowly recovering from a thigh injury but remains a doubt while Willy Boly is still out for the hosts.

Follow Friday's Premier League news conferences

Listen to full commentary of Nottingham Forest v Manchester City from 16:30 BST on Sunday on BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds

There is so much going on here.

First of all, regarding the first statement, if Forest had put out their second statement, their Monday statement, on Sunday at full-time, I do not think there would be quite as much furore.

I do not think they would have been asked for their views by the FA, as they have been. They have been "asked for their observations" - that is the phrase isn't it - which has the potential of leading to a charge.

So I think the language around the first tweet was not good. I think pretty much everybody is unanimous about the timing of and the language in that first tweet.

The clarification the next day was important. Whether or not it is going to save them, we will have to wait and see. I think it would have been less of an issue if that second statement had come out as the original one.

Regarding Stuart Atwell being a Luton fan - OK, he might be.

I think what Forest have been getting at, particularly in the second statement where they clarified it, is that he should have been taken away from this potential situation. I think that's OK.

If the governing body then decides they are going to leave him in there, then that is up to them. But I think it OK for a club to flag it up as a potential or perceived risk to both the person and the league itself.

It was not about calling the integrity of the referee in question into question. It was more a case of highlighting that just in case something happens, you might want to protect this guy, because otherwise he could be accused of it.

There is a subtle difference between those two things. I don't think in the first statement that difference was clear. It probably is made clearer in the second statement.

But then, even if he is a Luton fan and the governing body has decided to leave him in that situation, what has he done? He is a Luton fan. Has he rang Luton Town and said: 'Look guys, I'm a fan, what result would you like on Sunday?' - the answer to that is no.

Among the Luton fanbase, they would have had lots of different opinions about what result they wanted.

However, if a video assistant referee is going to be there then they should be there to protect the integrity of the game and not let egregious errors keep on happening. Surely that has to happen - VAR has to evolve.

I still think it is incompetence rather than conspiracy - but my word there has been a lot of it this season.

Listen to more of Colin Fray's thoughts on the Shut Up and Show More Football podcast