Nottingham Forest v Manchester City: Premier League – live | Premier League

42 min: Doku jinks in from the left, swanning past Aina before taking aim for the bottom-left corner. He doesn’t catch it well, and it’s an easy gather for Sels.

40 min: Hudson-Odoi barrels into the City box from the left. He goes over, but without any City help. Anderson then wins a 50-50 with Foden, only to catch his man on the follow-through. Foden not happy, but once again the referee waves play on. Finally Hudson-Odoi cuts back for Gibbs-White, in space on the edge of the D. The pass isn’t great, and Gibbs-White slices it harmlessly wide, many yards left of the goal. All of which got the crowd going, if nothing else.

38 min: Savinho embarks on another baroque run down the right. Too intricate this time. He’s got Haaland waiting in the middle, but one touch too many takes the ball out for a goal kick.

36 min: Now Foden pops up on the right, but can’t get the better of Anderson. City are staying patient.

34 min: Foden dances down the left and cuts back for Silva, who larrups a wild first-time shot over the bar from the edge of the D.

33 min: Dominguez robs Gonzales, 35 yards out. The City midfielder responds by barging into his opponent, who was preparing to advance on the box, from behind. A no-brainer booking, and a free kick. Everyone lines up on the edge of the City area. Murillo swings it towards the far post. Gibbs-White can’t meet it. The ball goes out for a goal kick … though it might have taken a nick off Gvardiol. Forest aren’t getting the corner, though. Gibbs-White far from pleased.

31 min: Doku nearly burns Aina for pace down the left. Not quite. Aina does well to stick by his man. City remain on the front foot, though, Gvardiol advancing down the left channel before cutting back for Foden, who aims towards the bottom left. Anderson and Gibbs-White combine to block. Having said that: not sure the shot was going in. But take no chances.

29 min: Doku rolls a pass down the left to release Foden into the box. Foden instantly crosses low, but can’t find Haaland. Forest clear their lines without fuss. The Dominguez post-bothering shot apart, the home side have done a good job of keeping the champions at arm’s length. So far.

27 min: Gibbs-White is booked for hauling back the in-flight Doku. The referee thought about it, before deciding he had no option.

26 min: Elanga finds Aina in acres down the right. The City Ground roars in anticipation, only for Aina to slap his cross straight into the nearest man Gvardiol. Forest’s final ball has been lacking.

25 min: Savinho glides down the right at warp speed. He’s great fun to watch. His cross is blocked, however. He cuts back for Gonzalez, whose shot this time isn’t so creamy. High into the stand it goes.

23 min: City have enjoyed 62 percent of possession so far. “Does anybody know what is the story with Foden’s perma-bandaged fingers on his right hand?” asks Jeremy Boyce. “Is it to stop him getting into gesture difficulties with referees, and opposition supporters taking the [word redacted by Family Website editor]?”

21 min: Gonzalez skittles Anderson on the halfway line. Free kick. Everyone lines up on the edge of the City box. Murillo to take from the right. He surprises everyone by slipping a pass down the right for Elanga, who lays off to Aina. The full back should return the pass, slipping Elanga into the box, but doesn’t spot the pass. Big opportunity missed.

19 min: Doku has the chance to release Nunes down the left, but Aina anticipates the pass brilliantly to intercept.

17 min: This game has a nice feel to it, with both sides committing to attack. This doesn’t look like a game destined to end goalless.

15 min: Gibbs-White one-twos his way down the left, a fine move that nearly comes off. The ball pings away for a throw, from which Elanga splits the City defence with a pass down the left channel. Wood, on his own in the box, can’t control, but it makes no difference as replays show he was clearly offside. Some neat play by Forest nonetheless.

14 min: A pocket of space for Gonzalez, in a central position, 30 yards out. He needs no further invitation, battering a pearler towards the top-left corner. The ball pings off the outside of the post. Again, Sels might not have got to that. The sweetest of strikes. Gonzalez pulls the “wow” face. He knows how good that effort was, and how close he came to scoring a peach.

12 min: The sun is out. Nuno, caring not a jot, is still wearing his big coat. Pep sports more season-appropriate sweater and trackie bottoms.

10 min: Savinho crosses from the right. Aina flicks a header away. Doku can’t successfully keep the attack alive on the other flank. City beginning to impose themselves now. Forest are used to sitting deep and soaking things up.

9 min: City slip into effortless passing/possession mode. It’s like they’ve never been away.

7 min: Savinho dribbles purposefully down the right again. His cross is deflected out for a corner … but no, because Williams manages to stop it going out. He only half clears, allowing Haaland the opportunity to scuff a low drive inches past the left-hand post. Not sure Sels was getting to that, had it found the bottom corner.

5 min: Elanga dribbles in from the right and attempts a cross. It hits Gvardiol. A huge cry for hand-ball, but the ball hit the defender on the shoulder, so there’s no way a penalty will be awarded. We play on. Decent run by Elanga, mind.

4 min: A picture of Stuart Pearce pops up on the big screen. Underneath it: “Get well soon, Stuart.” All four corners of the City Ground burst into the warmest applause, then a chorus of “Psycho! Psycho!” A lovely moment.

2 min: Nunes clanks a careless backpass out of play to gift Forest the first corner of the game. Khusanov wasn’t expecting it. Elanga swings it in from the left but fails to beat the first man. Nunes breathes a sigh of relief.

1 min: Savinho drops a shoulder to gain good ground down the right touchline, and is checked by the hanging leg of Williams. That’s surely a booking later in the game; the referee lets it slide with 40-odd seconds on the clock.

Forest get the ball rolling. An act greeted by a rare old racket! The fans unveil a banner: “Our time has come again, we’ll give it everything.” Let’s see, then.

The teams are out! Forest in red, City in second-choice neon yellow and black. A typically fine City Ground atmosphere on a lovely spring day in Nottingham, not a single wisp of mist rolling in from the Trent. Nevertheless, take it away, Macca.

Pep Guardiola speaks to TNT. “When there are 11 games left and you [Forest] are third, it’s because you’ve done many good things … home and away … their quality up front … speed …. physicality … a top side … everyone has to support defensively for each other … of course we want to be in the Champions League next season … but we have good contenders … Liverpool was not in it and look at them now … we are going to try, yes, until the last second … this club have not been used to be in this position for one, two, three decades … for the last ten or 11 years we are there … so of course we want to do it next season.”

Stuart Pearce is a bona-fide Forest legend, as well as a popular former City player and manager. Some good news to report after his health scare on a flight from Vegas: he’s recovering in hospital in Canada. Here’s to a full and speedy recovery.

More on Dibblegate. “I wondered if you might be interested in my new blog out looking back at Gary Crosby’s goal?” asks friend of the site Steve Pye. Sure would! Here it is, courtesy of That 1980s Sports Blog. “I’m sure if this kind of incident happened today then there would be a very measured response from everyone on social media.”

The Crosby-Dibble affair: a reappraisal. “Thing is with that Gary Crosby goal,” begins Bill Hargreaves, “if Andy Dibble had been less concerned with appealing to the ref, I think there’s a good chance he could have got across to dive on that ball. Ah, the morals to the stories.” Ian Copestake adds: “Mr Dibble missed a trick not immediately going down holding his face.”

All of which would have robbed us of a genuinely iconic happening, with each frame of the film timed to comic perfection. It can’t be bettered, and there’s added poignancy in Dibble’s reaction, which faithfully follows the rules of the five stages of grief. Denial: the shocked, disbelieving look on his coupon as Crosby tips the ball off the platform of his palm. Anger and bargaining: haring after the referee in the affronted style, with the express intention of debating the Laws of the Game. Depression and acceptance: the immediate deceleration of his run as the reality of the situation overwhelms him, and he realises he’s not got a leg to stand on, looking around impotently for a cavalry that will never arrive. Poor Dibble. But don’t let it define his career: he’ll always have his sensational performance in Luton’s 1988 League Cup final win over Arsenal. He’ll always have Wembley. Poor Nigel Winterburn.

Nuno Espírito Santo talks to TNT Sports. “We showed what we are as a team [against Arsenal] … we were solid … compact … a threat … we sometimes adapt to a different shape … but we play better as a four [at the back] … unity … it was tough [when Forest lost 3-0 at the Etihad in December] … we did not perform so well … they are an amazing team … we are in a good place … we have done nothing yet … a lot of hard work is in front of us … the City Ground has been fantastic for us … you will see in a while the noise they make.”

Forest name the same starting XI that secured a goalless draw with Arsenal in their last Premier League match. Manchester City are similarly stable, making just two changes after their 1-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur: Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva come in for Omar Marmoush and Mateo Kovacic.

The teams

Preamble