Forest Hand Khusanov Start Against City as Glasner and Maresca Name Strong XIs

Nottingham Forest and Manchester City have confirmed their starting lineups for this Premier League fixture at the City Ground, and the team sheets carry immediate consequences for both benches.

Forest manager Oliver Glasner has set his side up in a 3-4-2-1. Abdukodir Khusanov starts in the back three, a selection that puts the defender directly in the path of City's central attacking runners. Daniel Muñoz and Elliot Anderson also start, giving Forest a blend of width and legs in midfield. The shape asks the wing-backs to cover ground against a City side that will look to pin them deep.

Enzo Maresca's Manchester City line up in a 4-2-3-1. Erling Haaland leads the attack, with Enzo Fernández in the midfield two. City arrive at the City Ground having been knocked off the top spot after two straight league defeats, and the selection reflects a need for control rather than experimentation. The double pivot of Fernández and his partner is designed to screen the back four and free the attacking line to rotate around Haaland.

Forest's 3-4-2-1 gives Glasner three central defenders against Haaland, with the two attacking midfielders positioned to drop onto City's deep midfielders when possession turns over. The wing-backs must decide when to press high and when to sit in a back five. If they jump too early, City's wide forwards can attack the space behind. If they sit too deep, Forest concede territory and invite crosses toward Haaland.

City's 4-2-3-1 is built to create overloads in the half-spaces. The two holding midfielders, including Fernández, will look to circulate the ball and draw Forest's midfield block out of position. The attacking three behind Haaland can rotate, with the central attacker dropping to combine and the wide players running in behind. Khusanov's role in the back three is to track those runs and contest the aerial duels that Haaland will force.

Khusanov against Haaland is the fixture's most direct confrontation. Haaland has scored in this fixture before, and his movement between centre-backs is designed to isolate one defender. Khusanov starts alongside two partners in the back three, which gives Forest cover, but the first contact must be strong. If Haaland wins the first ball, City's midfielders will push up and Forest will be pinned.

Muñoz and Anderson give Forest legs in the wide and central areas. Muñoz's job is to balance defensive discipline with the timing of his forward runs. Anderson must link the midfield to the front two and help Forest keep the ball long enough to relieve pressure. Enzo Fernández, meanwhile, is City's metronome in the double pivot. His passing angles will determine how quickly City can switch play and how often Haaland receives the ball in the box.

City have lost two straight league games and need a response. The team sheet shows Maresca has kept faith with the core that has carried the side, with Haaland as the focal point and Fernández in midfield. Forest, at home, have the chance to make the City Ground uncomfortable for a visiting side that has been vulnerable to direct running and set pieces.

Glasner's 3-4-2-1 is a shape that can become a back five without the ball and a front three with it. The success of that flexibility depends on Khusanov and his defensive partners holding their positions against Haaland's movement, and on Muñoz and Anderson winning their duels in the middle third. City's 4-2-3-1 will test those duels repeatedly.

Kick-off is next. The lineups are in, the shapes are set, and the first 15 minutes will show whether Forest can impose their press or whether City's control takes hold.