In the FA Cup, Manchester City has the last chance to reconcile a messed up season with a title. The opponent is like in the fight for the Champions League in the Premier League Nottingham Forest.
For years Pep Guardiola rubbed in a majestic duel with Jürgen Klopp and his Liverpool FC. This rivalry is no longer there, neither with his trainee colleague, who is no longer his coach colleague but football boss at the Red Bull Group, nor with the “Reds” because Manchester City is no longer at the level of their level.
Manchester City is now looking at Nottingham instead of Liverpool
However, Guardiola has a new opponent who will claim his nerves enormously in the past few weeks of this messed up season and who could ensure that the year will be a complete failure for him and his “Citizens”. With Nottingham Forest, this is exactly the counterpart to the triplet winner of 2023 and Premier League champion of the past four seasons. The surprise team could first take Manchester the last title chance and then the last lifeline.
In the semi -finals of the FA Cup, Nottingham welcomes the former top dog from England on Sunday (April 27, 2025, 5.30 p.m.), who had lost last season after the cup triumph 2023 in the final against the local rival Manchester United. City now wants to make up for this victory, but has to take the Forest hurdle as well as in the league.
With 13 out of 15 possible points from the past five games, the Guardiola team worked in third place – was before the weekend on which the 35th matchday in the Premier League is due – but could quickly slip out of the top 4.
Nottingham Forest can win the first title in 45 years
Because both Nottingham (fourth with one point behind) and Newcastle United (two points behind City) have played one less game and can pass by. Manchester would then be lucky that the Premier League will receive the fifth Champions League Square by performing their clubs in the European Cup, but Chelsea (has four points, but also one game less), also fights for it.
But before that, Manchester is about the only title that it can win this season – apart from the club World Cup in summer. However, it is also the opportunity for Nottingham, the first big trophy since 1980, when the traditional club won the European Cup of the national champions (predecessors of the Champions League) to get the “City Ground” at home.
In addition to the outstanding season, the past encounters with City, which was only a few weeks ago. On March 8, Forest added the last defeat to the Guardiola team, Callum Hudson-Odoi caused a red and white joyaumel in the 83rd minute. Manchester’s trainer had already had “impressed” Showed by the performance of Nottingham under his colleague Nuno Espirito Santo, he raised the “Compact and aggressive” Defensive as well as the good counterattacks and creativity in the attack.
| Game day | Opponent | Current placement of the opponent |
|---|---|---|
35 | Wolverhampton Wanderers (H) | 15. |
36 | FC Southampton (A) | 20. |
37 | AFC Bournemouth (H) | 8. |
38 | FC Fulham (A) | 9. |
City trainer Guardiola hopes Damage limitation
Guardiola now has the task of finding a remedy for these skills. In winter, the association fulfilled the wishes for new commitments, whereupon he did not deliver. Manchester City is the third force in England in the calendar year 2025, but a strong final sprint is essential. “The season was bad. But we will try to minimize the damage until the end”said Guardiola now.
| Game day | Opponent | Current placement of the opponent |
|---|---|---|
34 | FC Brentford (H) | 11. |
35 | Crystal Palace (A) | 12. |
36 | Leicester City (H) | 19. |
37 | West Ham United (A) | 17. |
38 | FC Chelsea (H) | 6. |
A success in the FA Cup would certainly lead to it, but it is much more important that Guardiola and Co. score enough points to be back in the premier class next season. Nottingham Forest can prevent this. In the cup it has the city fate in hand, in the league it influences this in the remote duel for the Champions League places.