Nottingham Forest’s Recent Triumph
Nottingham Forest managed to get off the mark under Nuno Espirito Santo, as they became only the second opposition team to win at St James’ Park this season. They welcome Manchester United to the City Ground on Saturday, with both teams looking to build some momentum. The visitors performed very well in their previous fixture, as they came back from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa. They showed a fighting spirit that has been lacking all season. Erik ten Hag will be hoping his team can follow that up and United can finally get their season on track.
Boxing Day Performance
The performance on Boxing Day was excellent as Nottingham Forest created plenty of opportunities and were full value for their win against Newcastle United. Nuno’s appointment was met with a mixed reaction, but if the team continue to deliver performances like that, he will quickly be backed by the Forest fans. Forest will be looking to climb the table and steer clear of the relegation zone. This is an opportunity to record another big victory at home against a top six team.

Manchester United’s Resurgence
Manchester United have been written off in the last few months. Their tame exit from the Champions League coupled with some under par performances in the league have led to Ten Hag being under pressure. However, the performance against Aston Villa was much better and the players showed that they are still playing for their manager. The talent is there in the squad and they should be able to have a much better second half of the season with a lesser schedule.
Interesting Stats
Chris Wood became just the fourth player to score a Premier League hat trick against a team they had previously played for.
Manchester United have won 14 times in the Premier League from two goals down. This is five more than any other team.
Key Men
Wood
It was an incredible performance on Boxing Day as Chris Wood carried a huge threat in attack and was the main reason why Forest managed to get three points. His lack of pace has been used as a reason to criticise him, but his movement and reading of the game led to him getting several good chances. Once he received the ball, his composure in the penalty box was very impressive. On another day, he could have scored even more and he will be full of confidence going into 2024. Forest would have been concerned to be missing Taiwo Awoniyi, but the performance from Wood will have eased those worries. He now has seven goals and is showing that he still carries value in the top flight.
Garnacho
Despite the inconsistent form of Manchester United, Alejandro Garnacho has been excellent and is having his breakout season. Ten Hag will view him as a first team regular and his performance on Boxing Day showed why. He scored two as United came from two goals down. The fact that he managed to deliver in a pressurised moment showed that he has an incredible mentality for a teenager. Garnacho is still only 19 and he needs to be managed carefully, but he is ready for more minutes in the first team. He now has three goals and one assist in the Premier League. The next challenge is for the Argentine to become more consistent in the final third.

Team News
Ibrahim Sangare will be missing through suspension. Felipe and Serge Aurier will be missing until the New Year. Willy Boly will be back from his suspension, but Awoniyi will be missing through injury.
Luke Shaw, Sofyan Ambrabat and Anthony Martial could all be back available after missing the recent win over Aston Villa. Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Mason Mount, Casemiro and Lisandro Martinez will all be missing, but they are all penciled in for a return in January.
Verdict
This is going to be an interesting match. Both teams managed to bounce back from conceding the first goal on Boxing Day and they were good value for their respective comebacks. The next challenge will be to show consistency. Manchester United have really struggled away from home and this is a good chance for them to record a rare away win. Meanwhile, Forest have previously shown better form at home, even if that went amiss late in Steve Cooper’s reign. A score draw could be a good prediction for this one.
Predicted Scoreline
Nottingham Forest 1-1 Manchester United