Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest Stats: Cards, shots and more

Manchester United tasted defeat for the first time under Ruben Amorim on Wednesday night as they lost 2-0 to title chasers Arsenal. Meanwhile, Nottingham Forest were in Manchester losing 3-0 to City, as Pep Guardiola’s men ended their dreadful losing run. 

The two teams meet at Old Trafford at 17:30 on Saturday, with the game live on Sky Sports Main Event, with just three points separating them in the Premier League table. To help you pick you selections for this big clash, I’ve put together a comprehensive guide including all the Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest stats you need to know. 

Form Guide 

After the midweek round of fixtures, Manchester United now sit 10th in the form table having won two, drawn two and lost two of their last six Premier League matches. Amorim has overseen one draw, one win and one loss in the league, as well as the success over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League. Their form at home is good, and they’ve won five and drawn one of their last six games at Old Trafford since Tottenham Hotspur beat them 3-0. 

As I mentioned in the intro, both of these teams lost on Wednesday night without scoring, but Nottingham Forest have secured one more point than United have over the last six matches, winning three and losing three in that timespan. Their last two away games, albeit against Arsenal and Man City, have both ended in 3-0 defeats. 

Head-to-head 

Unsurprisingly, Manchester United have the better of the head-to-head record with 54 total wins to their name. Nottingham Forest have won 34 and there have been 24 draws out of their 112 meetings in total.

Their first meeting came way back in 1892, as Forest drew 1-1 with Newton Heath in Division One. Their most recent meeting came in the FA Cup last season, a competition that Man Utd went on to win, and they secured a vital 1-0 win at the City Ground on their way to Wembley. United also beat Forest home and away in 2023 in the semi-final of the Carabao Cup, another trophy that Erik ten Hag ultimately went on to lift. 

Forest’s 3-2 league win in December 2023 ended a run of 11 straight wins for United in all competitions, a run that included the famous 8-1 success in 1999, a game that saw future United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer come on as a substitute in the 72nd minute and walk off at full-time with four goals to his name. 

There were also 5-0, 4-0 and three 3-0 wins during that run for United, so history suggests they are well in control of this head-to-head battle. Forest haven’t won at Old Trafford since December 17, 1994 - 30 years ago - when Stan Collymore and Stuart Pearce scored for the away side, before Eric Cantona pulled one back for the hosts.

Goals & Shots

Manchester United have scored 17 goals in 14 Premier League matches so far and creativity was clearly a major issue under Ten Hag. However, after hitting four goals against Everton in their last home match they are looking brighter in Amorim’s 3-4-3 system. 

In terms of xG they have created 1.42xG per 90 this term, which is the 12th highest in the division, while Nottingham Forest rank ninth in that particular statistic, at 1.47xG per 90 - so there isn’t a lot in it from an attacking perspective. 

Marcus Rashford is United’s top scorer with four league goals to his name, while Joshua Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho have three goals apiece. As you can see from the graphic below, Bruno Fernandes leads the way for the Red Devils in terms of total shots, having had 38 this term but Garnacho is the leader for shots on target, with 14. 

Forest’s main man Chris Wood has been efficient with his shooting, scoring nine goals from 16 shots on target, and just 25 total shots. Nuno Espirito Santo has relied heavily on the New Zealander, who has stepped up the plate this season and kept Taiwo Awoniyi out of the team. The Tricky Trees have conceded 16 and scored 16 so far, which means Wood has contributed to over 50 per cent of their goals this season. 

Cards & Fouls

Manchester United currently sit third-bottom of the Fair Play table having picked up 38 yellows and one red card so far this season. Lisandro Martinez and Kobbie Mainoo are the biggest offenders in terms of cards, having now served their suspension for five yellows apiece. 

Fernandes picked up their only red of the campaign so far against Tottenham Hotspur, while Noussair Mazraoui is the man who has committed the most fouls with 18. Diogo Dalot isn’t far behind on 16, with Manuel Ugarte on 14. Given Amorim’s tendency to rotate however, picking out a player to be booked before they get taken off could prove quite difficult. 

Forest by comparison sit 10th in the Fair Play table, with 31 yellows and two reds to date. Ryan Yates and Nicolas Dominguez have four yellows each while Morgan Gibbs-White has three yellows and a red, with James Ward-Prowse the other man to get sent off this season. 

In terms of fouls, Yates leads the way for either side with 22, while Gibbs-White is a feisty character and has 17 fouls to his name despite playing further up the pitch. Elliot Anderson has 15 fouls and three yellows, while Dominguez has committed 14 fouls this term.

Corners

United’s matches have had the fewest corners in the league in 2024/25, and they are averaging 8.6 per match, 4.7 for, and 3.9 against. Even at home, I wouldn’t count on them racking up the corners as they had none at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday, as Arsenal racked up 13. Those set pieces were crucial in winning the game for the Gunners. 

Even in the 4-0 home win over Everton, United only had two corners, so I’d steer clear of any corner bets - or back the unders if you want to. Forest rank much higher but are just below the average of 10.9 corners per match, coming in at 10.8 in total. They have 4.8 corners per 90, and conceded six corners on average, every match. 

Offers

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