Paul Merson has made his weekly prediction for Nottingham Forest’s match against Manchester City. This weekend, the Reds face the onerous chore of hosting the triple winners on their own turf.
Forest has seven points from its first five games of the 2023/24 season. They’ve won crucial games against Sheffield United and Chelsea, while drawing with Burnley last time out.
Merson believes that one guy in particular should be kept an eye on this weekend. He admires Julian Alvarez and believes he has what it takes to beat Forest this weekend.
“Nottingham Forest secured one of the season’s shock results by beating Chelsea earlier this month, but I don’t see anything other than a Manchester City win here,” he told Sportskeeda.
“Because Liverpool and Arsenal play on Sunday, the reigning champions have a fantastic opportunity to win and put severe pressure on their opponents.”Erling Haaland has been City’s main man since his arrival last season, but I think Julian Alvarez is a great player. He can play as a No.10 or up front and has the potential to score and create goals.”
Merson believes Alvarez can defeat Forest and makes a surprising prediction.
It’s refreshing to see analysts predict Forest to score at big clubs these days. Last season, the Reds were the whipping boys on the road in the early portions of the season, and they will hopefully be competitive in 2023/24.
From the perspective of the Forest, the City appears to be a pipe dream. It just will not happen, and Steve Cooper’s goal is to go there and make his club look as solid as possible.
The Reds must keep an eye on Alvarez. If they place too much emphasis on one guy, one of City’s other strong players will do the harm.
This season, Forest has gotten off to a good start. As a result, they can go to the Etihad Stadium with nothing to lose and treat the game as a free hit.