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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 31
Nottingham Forest v Manchester United
City Ground
West Bridgford, England
Sunday, 16 April 2023
Kick-off is at 15h30
Manchester United will be looking to defend an unbeaten record against Nottingham Forest in the
Premier League dating back to 1995 when they meet at the City Ground on Sunday, April 16.
United have lost to the Reds just once in the Premier League era, which came on 17 December 1994 when they suffered a 2-1 defeat at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils went on to win six of their subsequent seven encounters in the top flight and will be seeking a seventh straight win against Forest after triumphing 3-0 in the reverse fixture on December 27.
Erik ten Hag's side made it back-to-back victories in the league with a 2-0 success over Everton at the theatre of Dreams last Saturday to keep pace with Newcastle in the race for UEFA Champions League football.
United (4th) and the Magpies (3rd) are tied on 56 points, three ahead of Tottenham (5th) with a game in hand. Second place is a bridge too far as the two clubs trail Manchester City by 11 points with nine matches left to play.
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Forest are in danger of making a swift return to the Championship after a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa last weekend extended their winless run to nine outings.
That sequence of poor results has seen Steve Cooper's team drop to 18th in the standings on 27 points, with only goal difference keeping Everton (17th) out of the relegation zone.
However, any of the bottom nine clubs could still get relegated as Crystal Palace (12th) are just six points clear of the Reds.
A lengthy injury list hasn't helped Cooper's cause as his attacking options have been severely limited for large portions of the season. Chris Wood and Willy Boly won't return this term, while Taiwo Awoniyi missed nine games at the start of the year with a groin problem. The Nigerian had scored four goals in 16 appearances before being sidelined and he's still working his way back to full fitness, coming off the bench in the last three games.
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Antony will need to step up in the absence of Marcus Rashford, who suffered a groin injury against the Toffees. The Brazilian made a bright start to his United career after joining from Ajax in August 2022, scoring a goal in each of his first three top-flight appearances but failed to find the back of the net since. His debut season in England has been hampered by injury though, which has seen the winger miss six league games.
In team news, Wood, Boly, Dean Henderson, Cheikhou Kouyate (all thigh), Ryan Yates (shoulder), Giulian Biancone (knee), Omar Richards (calf), Serge Aurier, Renan Lodi, Gustavo Scarpa and Moussa Niakhate are unavailable for the hosts, while Rashford (groin) and Luke Shaw (thigh) join Donny van de Beek (knee), Tom Heaton, Alejandro Garnacho (both ankle) and Casemiro (suspension) on the sidelines for the visitors.
Cooper has called on his players to show some character in the face of adversity as they attempt to salvage their season in the final eight games.
"We have to roll our sleeves up, learn, try and fight back and do everything in our character to stand up and be counted for as we simply have to," he declared.
Ten Hag believes United are getting better with each game as they pursue silverware on another two fronts (FA Cup and Europa League), having already won the EFL Cup this season.
"We're in the final stage of the season and we're still improving - that is the way I want to approach it," the Dutchman said.
"We have a lot to win, but also a lot to win in the way of playing, so we have to keep improving and in the end we want to get more silverware."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Forest - 0
Man United - 5
Draws - 0
Matchday 31 fixtures:
Saturday, April 15
11h30: Aston Villa v Newcastle United
14h00: Chelsea v Brighton & Hove Albion
14h00: Everton v Fulham
14h00: Southampton v Crystal Palace
14h00: Tottenham Hotspur v Bournemouth
14h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Brentford
16h30: Manchester City v Leicester City
Sunday, April 16
13h00: West Ham United v Arsenal
15h30: Nottingham Forest v Manchester United
Monday, April 17
19h00: Leeds United v Liverpool
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