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Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has glowed on the threat Nottingham Forest pose at the Etihad Stadium this week, with a number of key players to watch out for.
City resume Premier League action in strong form, having strung together six consecutive victories across all competitions, including narrow but vital wins over Leeds and Newcastle, alongside an impressive triumph away to Liverpool to keep Pep Guardiola’s side firmly in the title conversation.
Next up is a meeting with Vitor Pereira’s Nottingham Forest, who arrive in Manchester on Wednesday night looking to rediscover consistency after a mixed run of results and successive defeats to Brighton, Fenerbahce, and Liverpool.
Despite recent setbacks, Nottingham Forest remain a dangerous opponent with European ambitions of their own, balancing domestic commitments with a forthcoming continental double-header.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference this week, Pep Guardiola was quizzed on his previous run-ins with Vitor Pereira, whom he faced in the Super Cup between Porto and FC Barcelona before reuniting at Bayern Munich during some time together at the club.
“I remember him perfectly at Porto… The Super Cup in Monaco that I remember perfectly. First goal from [Lionel] Messi, and the second I’ve lost my memory,” said Guardiola.
“And the advice, I’m pretty sure he gave me the good ones and I gave the s**t ones,” he continued.
Reflecting on Vitor Pereira’s previous Premier League experience, and his start to life at the City Ground, Pep Guardiola said, “And I remember him perfectly in Wolves last season when we were playing for Champions League qualification, the first-half I would say they outplayed us and were much, much, incredibly better, and we were incredibly lucky. Top class manager. I saw the games against Brighton, Liverpool, and they were alive, a good [team].”
Continuing on the subject of Nottingham Forest, Guardiola said, “Always I have the feelings when we played there [at Nottingham Forest] against Sean Dyche, the quality of the players, all of them; Igor [Jesus], [Morgan] Gibbs-White, [Callum] Hudson-Odoi, [Omari] Hutchinson, [Elliot] Anderson, Murillo.
“They have a big squad, deep squad, and top, top class players. Sometimes the dynamics during a season makes a team better, worse, it’s a question of dynamic. Results are the best medicine for the confidence, results is what the players are better than you expect.”
“And of course they play for important things like us, and now we start the important part of the season. When you arrive in the last 10 games of the season, now it’s really starts to be decisive every point.
“We have two Premier League games, six games in this month before the international break, and it’s really important the condition that we are five points behind Arsenal. We cannot drop points.”
Manchester City’s congested schedule adds further weight to Wednesday night’s encounter, with an FA Cup trip to Newcastle at St James’ Park and a Champions League last-16 first-leg clash against Real Madrid looming shortly after.
For Pep Guardiola, however, the message is clear in that Nottingham Forest demands full focus and attention.
With just 10 league matches remaining for Manchester City and the margin for error in the top-flight is certainly slim, and any slip-up could prove costly in the pursuit of leaders Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal.