AFCON 2025
Nottingham Forest and Manchester City will put their Champions League qualification hopes aside as they meet in the FA Cup semi-final on Sunday.
Pep Guardiola’s City may be favourites, but here are 3 reasons we believe Forest can cause an upset.
1. Rock-Solid Defence
Forest’s defense has been a cornerstone of their success this season, with Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic forming an unbeatable partnership at the back.
Scary sight for any striker in the Premier League, is this CB pairing.
Milenkovic a composed, aerial master.
Murillo a fast, risk-taking defender, with great accuracy in his tackling.
A combined cost of under £25m.#NFFC pic.twitter.com/hmdL5XOe10
— Jamie Martin (@ImJamieMartin) February 27, 2025
The pair have consistently shown their ability to nullify opponents’ attacks, and they could be the key to shutting down City’s attacking threats.
2. Deadly Counter-Attacks
Forest’s counter-attacking style could prove to be City’s undoing. With City often committing players forward, Forest can catch them off guard with swift transitions, exploiting the space left behind.
Given City’s struggles with transitions and counter-attacks, Forest’s pace and agility on the break could be the difference-maker.
3. Erling Haaland’s absence
Erling Haaland has now hit 30+ goals in each of his three seasons with Man City 🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/0SxklZKArx
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 30, 2025
The absence of Erling Haaland could be a significant blow to City’s attacking potency. Without their talisman, City may struggle to find the breakthrough against Forest’s compact defense.
As the game ticks on without a goal, Forest’s confidence will grow, making it even harder for City to find a way through. Omar Marmoush must take o extra responsibility for Guardiola’s men in the final third.
