Manchester City’s in-form front three of Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden are set to be unleashed on Nottingham Forest.
Haaland scored twice as all three players impressed in the 3-0 win over West Ham before Christmas.
City know victory over Forest will move them above Arsenal, who play Brighton later on Saturday.
Pep Guaridola will want to keep momentum so is unlikely to make too many changes, but City must manage their squad ahead of a busy period after Christmas which starts with back-to-back away trip to the City Ground and then Sunderland.
Guaridola seems to have settled on a happy formula in recent weeks. He made no changes to his starting lineup for his last two Premier League matches, which brought a pair of wins over West Ham and Crystal Palace by a combined score of 6-0.
Guardiola will be unable to call upon Rayan Ait-Nouri or Omar Marmoush as they represent their nations at AFCON.
John Stones has been tipped to return from his thigh injury at the City Ground.
Should Stones be passed fit, it seems unlikely that he would start in what seems set to be a physical contest.
Beyond Stones’ recovery, there have been few changes to City’s injury situation. Rodri remains absent with a hamstring problem, while Oscar Bobb, Mateo Kovacic, and Jeremy Doku join him in the physio’s room.
With so many first-team players out, Guardiola has little incentive to deviate from his winning formula.
Haaland remains in fine form with six goals in his last five, and will remain up top. Behind him, Cherki and Foden have continued their impressive partnership.
Elsewhere, options for defensive changes are thin on the ground. Abdukodir Khusanov could come in, but Guardiola will likely stick with Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol for this match. Their experience should prove valuable against a direct Forest side.
Predicted Man City XI (4-3-2-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Silva, Gonzalez, Reijnders; Cherki, Foden; Haaland
Doubts: Stones
Injured: Kovacic, Rodri, Doku, Bobb
Unavailable: Ait-Nouri, Marmoush
Time and date: 12.30pm GMT on Saturday, December 27, 2025
Venue: City Ground
How to watch: TNT Sports 1
