(Football news) Forest are third in the Premier League table, six points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City, while Manchester United sit down in 13th position, with Manchester United an incredible 17 points behind their opponents in this fixture.

Forest finished 17th in the Premier League last season, only narrowly avoiding relegation, so it would be fair to say that not too many would have expected them to be up in third position at this stage of the campaign.

The Reds have been nothing short of remarkable this term, boasting a record of 16 wins, six draws and seven defeats from 29 matches to collect 54 points, which is enough for third, six points ahead of fifth-placed Manchester City in the battle for Champions League football.

Forest have won two European Cups, and top-level European action could be heading back to the City Ground next season, but there is still a lot of work to do for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side in the closing stages of the campaign.

The Reds were 4-2 winners over Ipswich Town in their last league game on March 15, while they booked their spot in the semi-finals of the FA Cup with a penalty-shootout success over Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

Forest beat Manchester United 3-2 at Old Trafford in December, and they are looking to complete a first league double over the Red Devils since the 1991-92 campaign, when a certain Brian Clough was in charge.

Nuno’s side is unbeaten in their last eight home Premier League games, recording six wins in the process, with that run including draws against the top two, Liverpool and Arsenal, demonstrating the size of Man United’s task on Tuesday night.

Incredibly, Manchester United are looking to win back-to-back Premier League matches for the first time this season, having entered the March international break off the back of a 3-0 success at Leicester City.

The Red Devils also thumped Real Sociedad 4-1 in the second leg of their last-16 Europa League clash at Old Trafford on March 13, with Ruben Amorim’s side now preparing to tackle Lyon in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Manchester United will not be securing Champions League football through the Premier League this season, but winning the Europa League would give them a seat at the top table for the 2025-26 campaign.

There is no getting away from the fact that it has been an incredibly difficult season for the 20-time English champions, but their last two performances would have raised confidence, and the team has not lost a fixture in normal time since the middle of February against Tottenham Hotspur.

In truth, the Europa League is much more important for Manchester United at this stage of the campaign, but having had a long rest ahead of this fixture, Amorim’s side, who are 13th in the table, should be in a good place when it comes to potentially picking up a positive result.

Manchester United have lost their last two Premier League games against Forest, including a 2-1 reverse in the corresponding game at the City Ground last term, but they did win 1-0 at the famous stadium in the FA Cup in 2023-24.

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