Nottingham Forest

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Nottingham Forest's hard work against Manchester City on Wednesday has put the fans on their side, says former Reds defender Brian Laws.

Forest secured a point in a 2-2 draw at Etihad Stadium and, in a season full of uncertainty over managerial appointments and Premier League survival, Laws thinks the supporters are starting to reconnect with the club.

"What all the Forest fans really want is an honest day's work from the players and consistency," Laws told BBC Radio Nottingham.

"Give your all. You can't kid the supporters - they know when you've put a shift in and when you've worked hard, and they know when you've been up for the game. And the players were up for the game, there was no question about it and the fans showed their appreciation.

"It's something the fans crave and when you don't give it, they'll let you know, and I think that's fair because it hasn't been frequent or consistent enough this year.

"But that connection with the fans is so important at this stage of the season. Particularly with where we are [in the table], we're going to need every one of them.

"As long as the players give that effort and commitment, you'll have the fans with you all the way."

Listen to more from Laws on the Shut Up And Show More Football Podcast on BBC Sounds here

Manchester City are close to completing a deal to sign Elliot Anderson from Nottingham Forest. (Teamtalk), external

Anderson favours a move to City over Manchester United, but Forest value the midfielder at more than £70m. (Talksport), external

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The latest episode of BBC Radio Nottingham's Shut Up And Show More Football podcast has landed on BBC Sounds.

David Jackson and Colin Fray are joined by former Forest defender Brian Laws to discuss Wednesday's 2-2 draw at Manchester City.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

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Tom Gayle
BBC Radio 5 live commentator

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Looking through the Nottingham Forest team-sheet at Manchester City, I posed the question to my co-commentator Rachel Corsie 'how is a squad with this much talent battling to avoid relegation?'. Now the same can be said of Tottenham and West Ham, yet as it stands, one of the three look set to go down.

To be successful, your big players need to show up. Irrespective of if you're fighting for honours and European qualification at the top of the table, or scrapping down at the bottom to preserve Premier League status.

I can say with some confidence Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson and Murillo will be playing top-flight football next season.

I know it, the players' representatives definitely know it, and I'm sure the majority of the packed-out away end who made the trip to the North West know it.

What's most important in the here and now is they all showed up and contributed significantly to a game which many, myself included, had prematurely written off as a routine Manchester City victory.

The reels and clips will naturally gravitate towards the audacity of Gibbs-White's backheel finish, Anderson's curler past one of best goalkeepers in the world, and Murillo's block on the line with just seconds of the match remaining.

However, this was a result achieved via a collective team performance, not just the pivotal wow moments delivered by this talented trio, and we shouldn't get away from the fact this was a game Vitor Pereria's side could have actually won.

If it was in doubt beforehand, this was a display which demonstrated Nottingham Forest are capable of sticking out their chests and going toe to toe with the best the Premier League has to offer.

Doing this consistently is going to be a big ask, yet for anyone questioning a desire to 'play for the shirt', look no further than the sight last night of Nikola Milenkovic taking a powerful Manchester City strike from close range, flush into this face, which he quickly shrugged off like the Terminator would, before demanding the back-line push up to try and catch the opposition offside.

We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Manchester City and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

City fans

Kevin: Same old same old. Switch off for the first 15 minutes of the second half, let the opponent back in the game then hope that substitutes on the hour will change things. No Marmoush when a goal is needed and none of the Nicos to shore up a woeful defence and midfield.

Dixon: As a City fan, totally disappointed at their performance, not least Foden who is the main culprit for Anderson's goal as he was the only City player closer to Anderson before the latter shot and scored. Foden didn't seem care if Anderson scored or not since he didn't attempt to tackle Anderson before the shot. City should sell him at the end of the season. I hope he won't be picked for the World Cup since he doesn't deserve a place in England team.

Martin: City looked disorganised & were too "narrow". They could not breakdown a packed Forest defence & lost the ball too easily.Forest started well but City dominated the majority of the game but reverted to sideways passing etc. same old,same old. Credit to Forest who matured during the game. Are City playing better away from home? Not good enough if they want to pressure Arsenal.

David: This current City team is a shadow of the ones of the last 10 years. Pep has run his course time for a change of manger and coaching staff for next season.

Rodrique: Disappointing end of a game which we should have seen out easily against a team who struggles to score goals. Title race not done yet because twists and turns could happen and they would. Let's pray for Arsenal to stumble and for City to win their remaining games.

Forest fans

Fosi: Great to see the fight back and the commitment, massive point! We need to cut out the mistakes and move the ball faster ! Expected to lose the game, well fought lads!

Luke: An excellent point and another performance that makes you wonder how we are where we are. Unfortunately this season, for every night like tonight there's been a night like Braga. We need to play this this for each of the remaining 9 games, and if we do we've got a chance.

Ken: The spirit shown in the second half must be carried into the remaining league games. If we do that, we should survive. Well played lads.

Sean: The team really had to put a shift in and they did. Fantastic effort and game plan from start to finish, there were even a couple of moments we could have snuck away with more. Really need to keep putting this kind of effort in now to stay up.

Ted: Manchester City didn't stumble, Forest were amazing. Awesome performance away from home. The fight was brilliant. We will stay up.

Pundits Micah Richards and Danny Murphy join host Mark Chapman to bring you the action and talking points from the midweek Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds

Shamoon Hafez
Football reporter

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Nottingham Forest were the ones celebrating a point at the end of a frantic second half, but could well have taken home all three as the clocked ticked into added time.

Elliot Anderson, who has been linked with a move to Manchester City in the summer transfer window, swung in a corner which was met by Ryan Yates at the near post, but the substitute thumped his header the wrong side of the post.

Forest needed to get something out of the game with West Ham beating Fulham and Anderson's equaliser ensured they did not drop into the bottom three but are now perilously close to it.

Despite the unlikely point, Forest remain winless in their last six league games, while ex-Wolves boss Pereira is yet to taste victory as a top-flight manager in 13 attempts this season.

Vitor Pereira spoke to TNT Sports after Nottingham Forest's draw against Manchester City: "It is not easy to play here against City, with one day less to recover. In the end we played a good game, first half more defending, but we created two big chances to score. After their goal we started to understand the spaces they concede to us, and we scored good goal.

"It was a pity the corner [City's second goal] because we knew they would try the far post. But overall I am happy with the speed, the performance, and it is very positive to see our future together.

On his confidence of avoiding relegation: "I am very positive, I believe a lot in the quality of the players. I believe with a little bit of time, I hope next week, we can increase our level. They have quality, we are organised, and I believe with this spirit we have the conditions to get points everywhere.

"[I have had only] two training sessions with the team, because the other ones were to recover the team, not to work [on new ideas]."

On City's penalty appeals: "It's normal in football. They want to win, to push the referee, this is normal. In my opinion this is not a game we can complain about the referee."

Elliot Anderson spoke to TNT Sports: "It was massive, obviously we've had a poor run, we knew coming here we would have to fight and work hard because they are a top side. We dug out a point, we are really happy.

"It keeps us pushing, we've got such a team spirit. I couldn't fault the effort of the lads, I thought we fought really hard today."

On Morgan Gibbs-White's backheel goal: "It was a great finish and got the belief going for the team.

"We've got a few days off after a lot of games. Then we will be back on the pitch working top pick up more points in this battle."

Hear more from Pereira on BBC Sounds and listen to Anderson speaking to BBC Radio Nottingham by pressing play below or heading to BBC Sounds

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Manchester City's performance

What did you make of Nottingham Forest's display?

Come back on Thursday for a selection of your replies

Manchester City make two changes to the side that edged past Leeds United on Saturday and there is a significant return to the starting XI.

Star striker Erling Haaland has recovered from the knock that kept him out of the trip to Elland Road, replacing Omar Marmoush who drops to the bench.

Nico O'Reilly suffered an ankle issue against Leeds and it appears he has not recovered in time for this game, being replaced by Phil Foden.

Man City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Silva, Foden, Semenyo, Cherki, Haaland.

Nottingham Forest also make two changes following their defeat by Brighton last time out.

Nico Dominguez and Jair Cunha come in for Vitor Pereira's side, replacing Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi.

Nottingham Forest XI: Sels, Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Cunha, Williams, Sangare, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White, Jesus.

There are five games in the Premier League on Wednesday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Aston Villa v Chelsea - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 2

• Brighton v Arsenal - BBC Radio 5 Live

• Fulham v West Ham

• Manchester City v Nottingham Forest -BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• Newcastle v Manchester United (20:15) - BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra 3

Kick-off times 19:30 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Brighton v Arsenal" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Newcastle v Man Utd", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester City go in search of a seventh consecutive win in all competitions, hosting relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest. BBC Sport examines some of the key themes before Wednesday's match (19:30 GMT).

Semenyo shining for City

No Erling Haaland, no problem. Manchester City were without their top scorer for the visit to Leeds – the city where the Norwegian was born – but nonetheless recorded another important victory to keep the pressure on leaders Arsenal.

Perhaps it should be no surprise. City have won 14 of the 18 top-flight fixtures Haaland has missed since arriving in 2022, losing only twice.

Manager Pep Guardiola hailed the result as a "huge victory", praising his team's "incredible focus" after surviving sustained late pressure at Elland Road. Grinding out victories has become something of a hallmark for this current City side, who have won three of their past four league games by a single-goal margin.

While defender Marc Guehi played a crucial role in City hanging on to their lead on Saturday, it was fellow January signing Antoine Semenyo who was the match-winner. The Ghana international has scored six times in 11 league and cup appearances since joining from Bournemouth for an initial £62.5m, helping to relieve the goalscoring burden on Haaland.

Overall, he has been directly involved in 18 Premier League goals this season, scoring 14 and assisting four more. Only three players had higher figures prior to the latest round of fixtures.

Can Igor Jesus find his scoring touch in the Premier League?

Nottingham Forest have lost their three Premier League matches at the Etihad Stadium by an aggregate score of 11-0 and new boss Vitor Pereira believes his struggling team must "approach this game with intelligence", stressing they need to recognise "when it's not the time to press".

Pereira's cautious approach may be understandable given he has not celebrated a Premier League win since last April, when his Wolves side defeated Leicester 3-0. But if Forest are to stay up, more cutting edge will be needed. Their tally of 26 goals this season is the second lowest in the top flight, with only Wolves having netted fewer.

Chris Wood led the line effectively last term, hitting 20 Premier League goals, but has not played since October because of a knee injury. Forest have therefore turned to Igor Jesus, who joined from Botafogo last summer for £10m. While the 25-year-old is his side's top scorer this season he has struggled to make an impact when it matters most.

Ten of his 12 goals have come in cup competitions, where he has demonstrated elite finishing, scoring with 35.7% of his shots and outperforming his expected goals figure by more than four.

But it has been a very different story in the Premier League. While he has attempted 50 shots, only 10 have been on target and just two have resulted in goals – a paltry shot conversion rate of 4%.

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira was brought in to keep them up but he has a 0% winning ratio in the Premier League this season after 10 games in charge of Wolves and now two defeats with Forest.

It's hard to see that changing at Etihad Stadium - City are going to win comfortably, whether or not Erling Haaland is back from injury to lead their attack.

Pereira was moaning about the way Forest pressed in their defeat by Brighton at the weekend, but if you keep bringing in different managers and changing the way you play, then it is going to end up biting you on the backside.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

Image source, Getty Images

The inquest has already begun. The search for answers has been under way for a while now. But the season still goes on. And the blame game for Nottingham Forest's slow demise will be far reaching – and probably inconclusive.

Sunday's loss to Brighton & Hove Albion was largely down to defensive mistakes. Despite playing as we did, a point was still achievable.

But it was the same as the previous Sunday against Liverpool. Do those errors happen if the same players didn't have to grind out a result against Fenerbahce on Thursday? Some questions never have answers.

Perhaps last season was a complete freak. A season where the stars aligned and while other clubs were off form, we had a mean defence and the ability to score from limited chances.

But that's probably being generous to the cacophony of mistakes made this season. To spend £200m in one summer and only have one or two regular performers is a disaster. Many of them may still come good, but we didn't need signings for the future; we needed signings to play in the league and three cups in the present.

It is, of course, easy to point the finger at Edu. The global head of football arrived last July and everything's gone wrong since.

The signings, the falling out with Nuno Espirito Santo and what followed… but that's conjecture. Surely he alone is not responsible for everything that's happened?

Who sacked Nuno, appointed Ange Postecoglou, sacked Postecoglou, appointed Sean Dyche, sacked Dyche and then appointed Vitor Pereira?

Evangelos Marinakis might be a man of strong will but, again, surely he alone is not responsible for all of those decisions?

The players on the pitch often bear the brunt of failure - whether it's booing, online criticism or just being dropped from the team sheet. But you have to have some sympathy for coping with the turmoil around them. Changing managers, changing training, changing tactics…

It's a mess, and largely one of our own making. But what are the answers?

Well, sign a top-class striker last summer and don't sack Nuno are the two obvious ones. But it's too late for that.

Now we simply have to be better than the two clubs either side of us in the table — West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur. Either way, the inquest will continue.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

The Observer's Rory Smith believes Nottingham Forest are underachieving this season with the players they have and actually have a better squad than West Ham and Tottenham.

"Make do and mend," to pull them away from the relegation scrap should be Vitor Pereira's attitude, Smith said on BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club.

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer and listen on BBC Sounds

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Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira doesn't know whether Nicolo Savona will be able to play again this season.

The defender, who joined from Juventus last year, has made 20 appearances in his debut season for the club.

However, the 22-year-old has been absent for over a month with a knee injury.

"I really don't know [if he'll play again this season]," Pereira said at his news conference before their game at Manchester City on Wednesday.

"After the surgery, they will say something and will inform us, but it is difficult."

Sami Mokbel
Senior football correspondent

Image source, Getty Images

It is fair to glean that Nottingham Forest's appointment of Edu as global head of football has not gone according to plan.

Such was the optimism that accompanied the executive's appointment last summer that no-one could have envisaged what was ahead.

Edu officially arrived in July, his appointment at the City Ground viewed as a major coup.

The Brazilian was key in Arsenal's re-emergence as a domestic and European force; in tandem with Mikel Arteta reconstructing a squad that – for so long – flattered to deceive.

Behind the scenes he was central to establishing an inclusive culture at the club. Speak to many who worked under Edu at Arsenal and they will tell you his work towards nurturing a connected workforce was his most important achievement at the north London club.

But Edu yearned for greater responsibility. He was excited by the idea of working under an international multi-club model; an objective that working under Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis' stable of teams – that also includes Olympiakos and Rio Ave – would allow.

Arsenal tried to keep Edu at the Emirates, but by the time the Gunners could assemble a package to keep the executive he was too far down the line with Forest.

Yet, fast forward nine months, things have not worked out as hoped.

The biggest indictment on Forest's season is their alarming slide towards relegation trouble.

The club are currently just two points clear of the relegation zone, a far cry from last season's push for Champions League qualification and eventual passage into the Europa League.

Then, of course, there's the managerial upheaval that has characterised their campaign.

Having started the season with Nuno Espirito Santo in charge, Forest's players are now working under their fourth manager of the season.

Nuno was sacked, largely owing to a breakdown in relations with Edu. Ange Postecoglou and Sean Dyche have also lost their jobs.

Vitor Pereira has been tasked with guiding Forest to top-flight survival, but he is yet to win a Premier League game since his appointment last month.

Given the club have spent close to £200m on new players since the summer, a recruitment path that Edu – given his remit – has been central too, it would be understandable if figures at the City Ground are underwhelmed by it all.

Forest appeared to be on the cusp of an exciting new era at the start of the season with Edu viewed as one of the key drivers on that journey.

His body of work at Forest is under the microscope.

There have been indications from sources that the 47-year-old has found himself under increasing internal scrutiny in recent weeks amid inidications an exit may be looming - though Forest insist there is no truth to those suggestions.

The implications of Forest's season remain to be seen, though history tells us Marinakis is not afraid to react in light of what he views as underachievement.

What looked to be the start of a blossoming relationship has turned into an episode that supporters fear could lead them into the Championship.

Melissa Edwards
BBC Sport journalist

Nottingham Forest boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to the media before Wednesday's Premier League game against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium (kick-off 19:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• Goalkeeper Stefan Ortega remains unavailable after missing the trip to Brighton on Sunday through injury.

• On Matz Sels coming back from his own injury at the Amex: "We had a conversation with Sels trying to explain that we need him in this moment. We know it's not the time because he needed a few more days to be fit and in shape but in the end, he's a leader, has a strong character and he wants to help the team so he decided to accept the challenge and take the risk between him, me and the medical department to play the game."

• Pereira has confidence in his side despite sitting two points above the relegation zone. He said: "The Premier League is a top and tough league if you look at the teams fighting to stay here. I'm not the kind of person who tries to find excuses but it's not easy to play four games in 12 days because they are not machines. The speed is there but to play with intensity and to play with pressing that I like to see with quality and the movements, we need fresh legs and fresh minds. They are trying and they have the quality which is why I'm very positive."

• When asked if he has a 'points target' that he thinks would guarantee safety, he said: "No, I think game after game. Try to get points and compete for them, correct mistakes because we can play at a better level. Try to rest mentally and physically and be ready for the next game and try and go there and get some points."

• On attempting to fight on two fronts in Premier League and the Europa League: "This is an ambitious club with an ambitious president, we want to move forward in the Europa League but we want with everything to be in the Premier League next season. Before I accepted the job, I looked through the schedule, I looked and I knew that it will be tough but a very good challenge."

• He continued: "For me, to be in the Premier League facing these kinds of problems in the Europa League is an honour, because it means I'm here in the best league in the world, fighting the best managers in the world."

• On preparing for Man City: "We need to approach it with intelligence because to play there and against City, with our tools and quality and work, we need to try to understand the proper moments to do things. Not to play too fast or lose the ball or press them when it's not the time, but press them when it is the proper time. This is something we can improve."

Follow all of Monday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Listen to Wednesday's full match commentary on BBC Radio 5 Live from 19:00 GMT

Got a question about Forest? Get in touch here and we'll put it to our experts

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League Brighton and Nottingham Forest.

Here are some of your comments:

Brighton fans

Rob: I should be happy with three points but I'm just angry we continue not to be able to perform over 90 mins - is it the players or Hurzeler? So dominant for 45 mins and then we proceed to over play and pass everything backwards, giving encouragement to Forest, in the second half. Brighton continue to be a hugely frustrating watch.

Chris: Good performance, great goals and great defending. Great to see Solly March back in the team and what a reception he got when he came on.

Joe: Good result but we made that ridiculously difficult for ourselves. Substitutions were made far too late and we almost cost ourselves by sitting back unnecessarily against a team 17th in the league. Would love to know also what Hurzeler's big problem with Minteh is.

Steve: Welcome win after a rough patch. I feel we could still disrupt the top four if we play to our potential, starting on Wednesday. Looking much more potent going forward so hopeful for a strong finish to finish top ten.

Nottingham Forest fans

Stephen: Didn't look like winning. Always second to the ball, was just jogging around while Brighton were running their socks out. Didn't deserve any points today.

Fosi: Shocking defence today, another toothless display. We are down without doubt, no quality backup players. The same players every game are shattered . Someone should have taken the decision either league or Europe ages ago, now we will get neither . Total lack of management by Marankis along with his useless mate Edu!!!

Derek: Just lacklustre, no control, urgency or drive. So disappointing. Where was the team that played against Liverpool?

Ivan: Relegation written all over it. The players really need to take a long hard look at themselves.