(Football news) The visitors, meanwhile, hope to end their 29-year winless streak against the Red Devils and earn their first away victory in the top level since January.
On the first weekend of the new season, Man United managed to defeat a hard-working Wolverhampton Wanderers team with a narrow 1-0 victory. However, their luck ran out last Sunday when they were defeated 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur in North London.
Spurs were by far the better team after the break as Pape Matar Sarr broke the deadlock on the 49-minute mark before a Lisandro Martinez own goal seven minutes from time condemned the Red Devils to their first loss at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
The game was frantic and full of chances at both ends, with the woodwork being struck three times in a first half that was largely dominated by Man United.
Man United’s manager Erik ten Hag must be concerned about how they lost the midfield battle in the second half against a revamped Spurs team. In addition, Man United’s road performance isn’t exactly stellar, with just three wins in their last 11 Premier League games away from home since the beginning of the year.
But the Red Devils will be happy to return to Old Trafford, where they haven’t suffered a Premier League defeat since the first game of the previous campaign against Brighton & Hove Albion. They’ll be confident of victory against Nottingham Forest on Saturday after winning each of their previous 10 meetings by an overall score of 36-3.
Indeed, Ten Hag’s team shut out Forest in each of their four matches with them last season across all competitions, including a 3-0 Premier League victory at the Theatre of Dreams nine months prior.
Nottingham Forest’s heroic comeback against Arsenal on the opening weekend ended in loss when they went down 2-1 in North London, but they bounced back with a win at home against recently promoted Sheffield United last Friday by the same score.
With a goal against the Blades in the third minute, Taiwo Awoniyi backed up his goal against the Gunners with another goal. Gustavo Hamer, making his debut, then skillfully countered three minutes later. Chris Wood, a substitute, headed in the game-winning goal for Forest just five minutes after joining the game, giving them all three points at the City Ground. But Forest ended up having the last laugh.
Even though Forest manager Steve Cooper was all praise for his team following the win, he has urged his players to perform with more “ruthlessness” and to avoid “complacency” in the final third.
When compared to the other 20 Premier League clubs, Forest’s road record was the worst, with just one win, five ties, and 13 losses in 19 away games. Forest’s home performance was a major reason for their success in avoiding relegation last season, accounting for 30 of their 38 points at the City Ground.
It will undoubtedly be difficult for the Tricky Trees to immediately turn around their poor road performance because they still have difficult trips ahead to Chelsea, Manchester City, and Man United in addition to their difficult trip to Arsenal. In the Premier League, Forest has lost more games versus Man United than any other team, and their most recent victory over the Red Devils came in a 2-1 victory in 1994. Forest will face Man United on Saturday.
Premier League Game Form
Manchester United W L
Nottingham Forest L W
Manchester United possible starting lineup:Onana; Wan-Bissaka, Varane, Martinez, Fernandez; Fernandes, Casemiro, Eriksen; Antony, Rashford, Sancho
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:Turner; Boly, Worrall, McKenna; Aurier, Danilo, Yates, Williams; Johnson, Gibbs-White; Awoniyi
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