First Leg – Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United – Sport Grill

Nottingham Forest welcome Manchester United to the City Ground in the first leg of their 2022-23 Carabao Cup semi-final.

Victory will see Forest or Man Utd seize the early advantage heading into the second leg, with a spot in the final against Southampton or Newcastle up for grabs.

Team News

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Ryan Yates is a doubt for Forest after he was substituted at half-time in their 1-1 Premier League draw at Bournemouth due to illness.

Dean Henderson (ineligible/muscle), Cheikhou Kouyate (hamstring), Giulian Biancone (knee), Moussa Niakhate (thigh), Omar Richards (leg) and Taiwo Awoniyi (groin) remain absent.

Man Utd will welcome Casemiro back into contention after he was suspended for their 3-2 Premier League defeat at Arsenal last weekend.

Diogo Dalot (hamstring), Axel Tuanzebe (unspecified), Donny van de Beek (knee), Anthony Martial (leg), Jadon Sancho and Mason Greenwood (both personal) remain absent.

Stat Attack

• Forest have lost all three previous League Cup meetings against Man Utd (L3).
• Man Utd are playing away at Forest for the first time in this competition, with all three of their previous League Cup meetings having taken place at Old Trafford.
• United have scored seven goals and conceded just one goal in their three previous League Cup meetings against Forest.
• All eight of Forest’s disciplinary bookings in this season’s Carabao Cup have been dished out after half-time.
• Marcus Rashford has scored four goals in three Carabao Cup appearances for Utd this season (W3).

Prediction

Having enjoyed a good run of form this month and showed immense spirit plus high-intensity attack to snatch a draw at Bournemouth on Saturday, Forest certainly can enter this semi-final full of confidence but their end product will need to improve if want a result here.

Man Utd meanwhile found themselves involved in a physical contest in their defeat at Arsenal as their hectic fixture schedule continues, so it will be interesting to see how they handle this game but must tighten up their defensive marking after losing focus too many times.

Forest though will have a fierce home crowd to motivate them plus the knowledge that they can afford to  throw more into this leg, due to not having FA Cup action this coming weekend unlike Utd which could well prove the difference if consider fitness and squad rotation.

I though can’t help but feel that Man Utd should have too much for the hosts if they can quickly reset and deliver a better overall performance.

Prediction: Nottingham Forest 1-2 Manchester United