Nottingham Forest vs. Manchester United: Preview and betting tips

Wednesday’s football schedule will feature the first game of the Carabao Cup semi-final, with Nottingham Forest at home to Manchester United. What to expect from the match between two teams that went up after the World Cup in Qatar and what to bet on?

Nottingham clinched their historic cup semi-final berth in a penalty shootout with Wolverhampton. But even in the league, its performances and results have gone up as it jumped to 13th place and is already 4 points above the relegation zone.

Manchester United had an easier path to the top four, knocking out third-tier Charlton in the quarter-finals. They are 4th in the league, already 11 points behind leaders Arsenal and 6 points behind city rivals Citizens.

Key Nottingham Forest figures

Morgan Gibbs-White shines for the home side, the summer signing and offensive midfielder has scored twice and assisted four times. Serge Aurier has also improved his performance, the experienced right-back has netted one goal so far.

Manchester United’s key figures

Marcus Rashford has been one of England’s best players since the World Cup in Qatar, with 17 goals and 7 assists already. The midfield is held by Brazilian Casemiro, with the left edge of defence being sharpened by the excellent Luke Shaw.

Nottingham have struggled on either side of the pitch, especially from the start of the season. With 16 accurate shots it is the worst in the league after Wolverhampton and Everton, only leaky Bournemouth have scored more than its 35 goals. However, it’s the defence that has been doing particularly well recently, only conceding twice in the last 4 league games.

It’s Manchester United who are extremely dangerous offensively, so mainly thanks to Rashford and also the improved performances of Bruno Fernandes. In 7 of the last 9 games, Erik ten Hag’s charges have scored 2 or more goals.

Taking into account the form of the whole United team, not only game-wise but also mentally, and given Nottingham’s tough schedule, I expect the Red Devils to win the opening game of the final.