Nottingham Forest vs Manchester City Predictions

• Manchester City have won five of their last six games
• Manchester City have reached the FA Cup final in each of the last two seasons
• Nottingham Forest have lost two of their last three matches
• Omar Marmoush has already bagged six Premier League goals this term

City can make the most of past experiences

Nottingham Forest and Manchester City are two of the sides engaged in the fierce battle for the top five in the Premier League but both sides will take a break from league duties this weekend when they clash in the semi-finals of the FA Cup.

Wembley Stadium plays host to this weekend’s semi-finals with Forest having booked their spot in the last four with a penalty-shootout victory against Brighton in the quarter-finals.

As for Manchester City, they were 2-1 winners away to Bournemouth and Pep Guardiola’s side are no strangers to this competition.

The Citizens won the FA Cup in the 2022-23 season against Manchester United before losing to their City rivals in last year’s final.

And they will be hoping their knowhow in big knockout fixtures will see them over the line against the Tricky Trees.

Tricky Trees set for disappointment at Wembley

On Tuesday, meanwhile, Manchester City recorded a last-gasp 2-1 win over fellow top-five chasers Aston Villa thanks to a 94th-minute strike from Matheus Nunes.

That made it four wins in five games in all competitions for City, who are finally starting to show some consistency under Guardiola this season.

The biggest sides typically hit their stride at this stage of the campaign and City could yet finish the season with a top-four finish and an FA Cup under their belts.

They will be determined to do exactly that and they look a nice price to beat Forest at a neutral venue.

Forest have fallen away a bit recently, losing back-to-back matches at the start of April against Aston Villa and Everton, denting their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

They picked up three points away to Tottenham on Monday night but punters should not read too much into that given that Ange Postecoglou’s men long ago checked out of the Premier League.

Marmoush could bag decisive goal

City are the bet to win this FA Cup semi-final in 90 minutes but it is likely to be tight and a 1-0 win is the way to go given that Forest have had three games settled by 1-0 margins since the start of March.

As for a goalscorer pick, Omar Marmoush did not score against Aston Villa on Tuesday but he was lively in the match and has scored six times in this season’s Premier League.

He was on target in City’s quarter-final triumph over Bournemouth and is worth backing to score again.