Manchester United and Nottingham Forest kick off their Premier League campaigns on Tuesday night. Following a convincing performance in the Carabao Cup, the Red Devils will be looking to build on their position in the top four against a Forest side that has yet to win away from home this season.
When these two teams last met in February 1999, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer scored four goals off the bench. Forest, who defeated Blackburn 4-0 last week, could use a confidence boost at Old Trafford in their fight against United.
United will be without Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane following the World Cup final. With Harry Maguire out with an illness, their defensive concerns remain, forcing Casemiro to play center-back against Burnley. Diogo Dalot (hamstring) will be monitored, and Jadon Sancho has yet to return to training with United.
Ten Hag may have a problem with central defence after both Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez reached the World Cup final and are thus unavailable for selection, with Victor Lindelof the only obvious centre-back option as Harry Maguire is on holiday, Phil Jones is still out, and both Axel Tuanzebe and youngster Teden Mengi are injured, while the only other area of concern is Jadon Sancho’s continued absence, with Ten Hag admitting that the England win.
United aren’t quite in a position to leapfrog Tottenham and break into the top four, but defeat for Antonio Conte’s men against Brentford at lunchtime on Boxing Day would present the Red Devils have the chance to catch the north Londoners on points after heading into the mid-season break with a morale-boosting 2-1 win at Fulham thanks to superstar teenager Alejandro Garnacho’s last-gasp winner, followed by a 2-0 win over Burnley on their return.
Omar Richards, Giulian Biancone, Cheikhou Kouyate, and Moussa Niakhate are also absent for Forest. Morgan Gibbs-White, Wayne Hennessey, and Serge Aurier are all question marks. Forest have struggled away from home, conceding 19 goals to just one scored, and will be undone by a confident United attack, particularly Rashford.
When and Where
DATE– 28th December 2022
TIME – 7.00PM GMT
VENUE – Old Trafford
History and outcomes of head-to-head (h2h) competitions
This is the first time the two sides have met since the millennium.
Man United wins-48
Draws: 24
Nottingham Forest wins- 33
