Football Bet of the Day: Home comfort for Man City against Forest

We're in March and Manchester City are in their title-winning mode. Pep Guardiola's side have won four Premier League games on the spin, sitting five points behind leaders Arsenal with a game in hand.

The Citizens host struggling Nottingham Forest at the Etihad on Wednesday (19:30 GMT, TNT Sports 4) in search of another three points. It is from this clash that I have picked out my Football Bet of the Day, which you can find below.

Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest Odds

City are 2/5 to win this match and extend their winning run to five in the league.

Forest have drawn three of their past seven outings in the top flight and the stalemate on Wednesday is priced at 18/5. The Tricky Trees are valued at 7/1 to defeat the title-chasers.

Rayan Cherki was the match-winner for Man City in December's 2-1 reverse at the City Ground and he is 7/4 to score anytime here.

How many times have we seen Guardiola's City teams get their heads down and focus at this stage of the season? Too many. This is usually the time of year when they go on one of their unstoppable runs to claim another league title like Thanos going after the Infinity Stones.

Four wins on the spin is evidence that they are making their move. They have a game in hand on current leaders Arsenal, who still have to play City at the Etihad in April. The importance of that game cannot be overstated at this stage.

For now, the Citizens have to focus on themselves to be in a strong position for that heavyweight clash next month. They will be well-favoured for three points against Forest, who are scrambling at the bottom end of the table.

Vitor Pereira's side have suffered back-to-back defeats in the Premier League and now he has to take his players to one of the form sides in the division.

Everyone knows how dangerous Man City are when they get into this kind of rhythm at this stage of the season. For that reason, I think Forest will be picking the ball out of the net a few times on Wednesday night, so I am covering the Citizens with a -2 handicap.

In case you are unfamiliar with these markets, the bet I have picked out would hand a hypothetical two-goal lead to Forest. For the bet to be deemed a winner, City need to win by a three-goal margin.

I believe such a victory is achievable because Man City have accomplished this eight times already in the Premier League in 2025/26, with six of them coming on home turf. Since Forest's promotion to the top flight in 2022, City have beaten the Tricky Trees by a three-goal margin in two of the three fixtures at the Etihad.

Additionally, there have been four occasions in the league this term in which Forest have been defeated by a 3-0 scoreline. Two of those defeats came on their travels.

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