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Manchester City travel to Nottingham Forest looking to apply further pressure on Arsenal at the top of the Premier League.
Manchester City are enjoying a brilliant run of form as they enter the latest round of fixtures. City made it seven wins in a row on Saturday when they beat West Ham United 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium. The performance was not a classic but they were rarely troubled.
Pep Guardiola said after the game he would be weighing players on Christmas Day and anyone he deemed to be 'overweight' would not make the trip to Nottingham Forest. That should be enough to put anyone off an extra mince pie over Christmas but this is the price professional athletes have to pay.
Presuming the players have all passed Guardiola's weigh-in, we can expect to see City stick with a team which has become familiar in recent weeks. The back four now seems set and even if John Stones has returned to the matchday squad, it is unlikely he will replace Ruben Dias or Josko Gvardiol.
Nico O'Reilly continues to flourish at left-back and with Rayan Ait-Nouri at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) his place is assured. Nico Gonzalez has stepped in for his fellow countryman Rodri while the Ballon d'Or winner has been out with a hamstring injury. It is of course a risk to continue picking Gonzalez, particularly with the mountain of games stacking up in January, but he will start again today.
Guardiola will have to keep his fingers crossed that Gonzalez can avoid injury at least until Rodri is back and can provide the 23-year-old with a much-needed rest. Tijjani Reijnders bagged another goal last weekend in the win over West Ham and should retain his spot.
The front three picks itself if everyone is available to visit the City Ground. Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden are having standout seasons with the former looking like an absolute steal at £34m from Lyon.
Savinho could be brought in if rotation is needed but when all the players are fit it is Cherki and Foden who should play behind Erling Haaland. The Norwegian is writing his name into the City record books every week and he has scored five goals against in six matches against Forest.
City predicted XI vs Forest: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'Reilly; Bernardo, Gonzalez, Reijnders; Cherki, Foden, Haaland
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