Match preview: United v Nottingham Forest
Manchester United’s Premier League campaign is set to resume with the visit of Nottingham Forest to Old Trafford on Tuesday 27 December.
The game will be our first in the competition in just over six weeks, following the World Cup break, and our first meeting with Forest since 1999.
So, ahead of the match in M16, here is everything you need to know…
HOW TO WATCH AND FOLLOW
The game is a 20:00 GMT kick-off at Old Trafford and will be broadcast live in the UK on Amazon Prime Video, while you will also be able to follow the action as it unfolds in the United App, on ManUtd.com and MUTV.
Our pre-match show will be on air and counting down to the first kick from 18:55 GMT, with team news released five minutes later. Live radio commentary of the game will also be available.
If you miss any of the action, or just want to rewatch it, short match highlights will be on our official platforms exactly two hours after the final whistle, with extended versions viewable from Wednesday morning.
TEAM NEWS
United were without Diogo Dalot (injury) and captain Harry Maguire (illness) during Wednesday’s win over Burnley. Erik could provide an update on them during his pre-match press conference, which will be streamed live across our platforms at 13:30 GMT this afternoon.
Speaking after our midweek victory, the boss did not shed too much light on when World Cup finalists Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane could return to the fold, but said he hopes that they will be back in soon after some time off.
As for the visitors, head coach Steve Cooper is hopeful Wayne Hennessey, Serge Aurier and Morgan Gibbs-White will be available for Tuesday’s game having all missed their Carabao Cup outing at Blackburn Rovers.
Cooper is currently without Cheikhou Kouyate and Moussa Niakhate due to hamstring problems, while Giulian Biancone and Omar Richards are long-term absentees. Dean Henderson is ineligible to face his parent club, while Jesse Lingard could face United for the first time since departing in the summer.
United spread festive cheer
GalleryScroll through our images of United's men's and women's teams wrapping and gifting presents.
United made a winning return to action in midweek, defeating Championship leaders Burnley 2-0 at Old Trafford, thanks to goals from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford. In the time between our most recent competitive outings, a young Reds squad were edged out by Spanish sides Cadiz and Real Betis in warm-up friendlies.
Before the pause to the term, United had lost just once in 12 matches across all competitions.
Forest come into the Premier League fixture following a 4-1 victory in the aforementioned League Cup trip to Blackburn on Wednesday, with Lingard, Brennan Johnson (2) and Taiwo Awoniyi all on the scoresheet.
Over the break, the Tricky Trees played four friendlies to help get them set for the restart, losing to Stoke City, Atromitos and Olympiacos before defeating La Liga side Valencia at the Mestalla in Spain. Prior to the mid-season hiatus, they had begun to get something rolling after a tough start to the campaign, losing just twice in their last eight competitive outings before Wednesday’s game at Ewood Park.
Forest have steadied themselves after what was a bumpy beginning to their first top-flight campaign since 1998/99. Under head coach Steve Cooper, who arrived eight games into their promotion-winning Championship season of 2021/22, the City Ground club secured their long-awaited return to the Premier League via the play-offs, defeating Huddersfield Town 1-0 in the final at Wembley. Since that match, there has been a fair bit of change to the squad – that did contain ex-United midfielder James Garner – with 22 players brought in by the end of September. That includes current Reds goalkeeper Henderson on a season-long loan, and Lingard on a free transfer.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Our upcoming meeting will be the first since the turn of the century, with the last fixture between the two clubs coming in February 1999 – United won 8-1 in a game at The City Ground known memorably for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s four goals as a substitute. The Reds also won the reverse fixture earlier in the season at Old Trafford – 3-0, on Boxing Day of 1998 – and have 48 wins to Forest’s 33 down the years in the clash (24 draws).
Nottingham Forest 1 United 8
6 February 1999: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer steps off the bench to score four goals during an 8-1 victory over Forest...
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Our game is one of 10 across the division in the first round of festive matches, to be played across a three-day period.
MONDAY 26 DECEMBER
Brentford v Tottenham Hotspur (12:30)
Crystal Palace v Fulham (15:00)
Everton v Wolves (15:00)
Leicester City v Newcastle United (15:00)
Southampton v Brighton & Hove Albion (15:00)
Aston Villa v Liverpool (17:30)
Arsenal v West Ham United (20:00)
TUESDAY 27 DECEMBER
Chelsea v Bournemouth (17:30)
UNITED v Nottingham Forest (20:00)
WEDNESDAY 28 DECEMBER
Leeds United v Manchester City (20:00)
All kick-offs are in GMT.