Relegation-battling Nottingham Forest host top-four chasing Manchester United at the City Ground.
Victory or at least a draw would lift Forest out of the relegation zone, whilst Man Utd can go third with a win or draw.
Team News
Moussa Niakhate and Cheikhou Kouyate are both ruled out for Forest after the pair suffered hamstring injuries in the away defeat at Aston Villa.
Dean Henderson (muscle/ineligible), Serge Aurier, Renan Lodi (both knock), Omar Richards (leg), Giulian Biancone, Gustavo Scarpa (both knee), Willy Boly (hamstring) Ryan Yates (shoulder) and Chris Wood (thigh) remain absent.
Man Utd will be without Lisandro Martinez for rest of season after he suffered a foot injury during their 2-2 draw against Sevilla in Europa League on Thursday evening.
Raphael Varane also is ruled out with a foot injury after having been substituted at half-time against Sevilla.
Luke Shaw (hamstring) and Scott McTominay (knock) however could feature but Tom Heaton, Alejandro Garnacho (both ankle), Donny van de Beek (knee), Marcus Rashford (groin) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Forest host Man Utd at 4:30pm BST on Sunday 16 April at the City Ground, live on Sky Sports in UK.
Stat Attack
- Forest have won just one of 11 previous Premier League meetings against Man Utd (W1, D2, L8).
- Man Utd are unbeaten in five previous Premier League visits to Forest (W3, D2).
- Utd’s Anthony Martial has scored in each of his two appearances against Forest in all competitions this season.
- Forest have conceded six goals in their last four home matches (D3, L1).
- Man Utd have conceded nine goals without reply in their last two league matches away from home (L2), as many as they have conceded in their previous seven away league fixtures.
Prediction
Without a win in nine matches, Nottingham Forest now know that a win is crucial if they’re to move out of the relegation zone and put further pressure on Everton who has a slightly harder run-in.
I will admit that Forest were never going to get a result at Villa last weekend but they did well in terms of performance, yet wasteful finishing and moments of sloppy marking proved their undoing so I would like to see them play much tighter in terms of defence with tidier finishing up top.
Man Utd meanwhile have suffered a double defensive blow with Martinez and Varane both ruled out, meaning that Harry Maguire plus Victor Lindelof must now step up because Forest will surely target their vulnerable central defence.
Utd though will still be dangerous given their midfield and attacking quality minus Rashford which was evident in a dominant display against Sevilla, until they defensively imploded with two poor own goals so they must quickly refocus and look to come out with their best performance.
Forest though can often make life difficult for visiting teams at the City Ground so I don’t expect another dominant Utd win like previously seen this season, especially given Utd’s fitness issues and brutal fixture load with one eye on their tricky trip to Sevilla on Thursday.
A draw therefore feels like a fair bet if Forest can bring their top game but Utd should somehow have too much, even given their own issues because these Red Devils will certainly be eager to head into two vital cup games with a win.
Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester United
Result: Nottingham Forest 0-2 Manchester United