Preview: Forest up for United challenge at Old Trafford; Zirkzee to start? Rashford benched again? Defence to weather set piece storm?

Manchester United -v- Nottingham Forest

Premier League

Old Trafford, Manchester

Saturday 7 December 2024, KO 17:30 GMT

Manchester United continue their Premier League season at Old Trafford on Saturday evening as they welcome Nottingham Forest to the Theatre of Dreams. After the shocking 2-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday evening – conceding two set piece goals, Ruben Amorim will need to get back to winning ways.

United fell to 11th in the Premier League following the defeat to Arsenal and are now seven points adrift of the top four. Forest sit in sixth place – three points better off over United which is a worry heading into this fixture. United have been beaten by Forest before and it could happen again this weekend – especially on set pieces.

Amorim will need to go back to basics in training and have his defensive players working on set pieces as to concede two set piece goals against Arsenal is devastating. The Portuguese manager will need to make his mark on this squad of players and solve the problems so United can better their season – not fall short again.

United – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

Arsenal 2-0 L, Everton 4-0 W, Bodø/Glimt 3-2 W, Ipswich 1-1 D, Leicester 3-0 W, PAOK 2-0 W

Goals: 8 – Alejandro Garnacho, 7 – Marcus Rashford, 4 – Christian Eriksen, Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund, 3 – Amad, Casemiro, Joshua Zirkzee, 1 – Antony, Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire

Assists: 9 – Bruno Fernandes, 5 – Amad, 4 – Alejandro Garnacho, 3 – Christian Eriksen, Marcus Rashford, 2 – Diogo Dalot, Noussair Mazraoui, Joshua Zirkzee, 1 – Rasmus Hojlund, Manuel Ugarte

Forest – Form, Goals Scored & Assists

City 3-0 L, Ipswich 1-0 W, Arsenal 3-0 L, Newcastle 3-1 L, West Ham 3-0 W, Leicester 3-1 W

Goals: 9 – Chris Wood, 2 – Callum Hudson-Odoi, 1 – Ola Aina, Morgan Gibbs-White, Murillo, Jota Silva, Ramón Sosa, Ryan Yates

Assists: 3 – Elliot Anderson, 2 – Anthony Elanga, 1 – Nikola Milenkovic, Álex Moreno, Jota Silva

Previous Meetings & Connections

United and Forest have met 14 times in the Premier League. United have won 10 times, drawn two times and lost two times. United scored 40 goals against Forest, winning one penalty, scoring it. Forest scored 10 goals against United, winning no penalties. United will need to get back to winning ways against Forest.

United have kept seven clean sheets in this fixtures with Forest keeping none. This has been a fiery clash with discipline being an issue. United players have been shown 25 yellow cards and no red cards with Forest players shown 29 yellow cards and no red cards. United will need to up their set piece defending against Forest.

Jonathan Greening, Scott Wootton, Roy Keane, Danny Higginbotham, Lee Martin, Andy Cole, John Curtis, Viv Anderson, Teddy Sheringham, Michael Stewart, Federico Macheda, Neil Webb, Saidy Janko, Jesse Lingard, Dean Henderson and Anthony Elanga have played for United and Forest.

Team News

United:

Ruled Out: Victor Lindelof (groin/hip/pelvic) and Luke Shaw (calf/shin/heel)

Suspended: None

Close to Returning: Jonny Evans (knock)

Forest:

Ruled Out: Ibrahim Sangare (thigh) and Danilo dos Santos de Oliveira (ankle/foot)

Suspended: None

Close to Returning: None

Predicted United Starting XI – 3-4-2-1

Onana;

Mazraoui, De Ligt, Martinez;

Amad, Ugarte, Mainoo, Malacia;

Fernandes, Garnacho;

Zirkzee

Predicted Forest Starting XI – 4-3-2-1

Sels;

Aina, Milenkovic, Murillo, Moreno;

Yates, Dominguez;

Elanga, Gibbs-White, Silva;

Wood

History, training and the lead up to the big match

United have little history against Forest with them sitting out of the Premier League since the late 1990s. But the history they have is impressive for United. That said, Forest have become a tough team to beat and are in form at this stage of the season – sitting sixth in the Premier League at the time of writing.

United fell to 11th after a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal, which will see manager Ruben Amorim get tough with his squad as they seek to return to winning ways against Forest at the Theatre of Dreams on Saturday evening. United’s season will need to improve as they face City and Spurs in the coming weeks, which are important matches.

The Old Trafford club will need to overcome their set piece problems, which they faced against Arsenal, conceding twice from set pieces in the 2-0 defeat. If United can command their own area and overcome any problems here, there is no reason why they cannot beat Forest and send them home from Old Trafford with nothing.

Manchester United 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Written by Paul