Carabao Cup 2022-23: Manchester United vs Nottingham Forest: Predicted lineup, injury news, head-to-head, telecast

The Red Devils take a healthy 3-0 lead into the second leg

After a heavy defeat to the Red Devils in the first leg of the Carabao Cup, Nottingham Forest will look to bounce back, and both teams will face again in the second leg. The Red Devils have one foot in the final courtesy of a dominant 3-0 success at the City Ground last week, and either Southampton or Newcastle United will await Erik ten Hag's men at Wembley, assuming they can avoid a catastrophic collapse here. United are in red-hot form and has improved drastically in tactics in under ten Hag. No stranger to winning trophies during his time in charge of Ajax - who have just sacked his successor Alfred Schreuder - Ten Hag is now potentially only 180 minutes away from clinching Man United's first piece of silverware since 2017, and the prospect of a domestic cup double is still alive too.

Steve Cooper's Tricky Trees will take any glimmer of hope that comes their way this week, as Forest aims to do what no team has ever done before in the EFL Cup by overturning a three-goal deficit in the semi-finals. However, that three-goal loss in the first leg of their semi-final marked Forest's eighth defeat in a row against Man United across all tournaments, and not since the 1994-95 Premier League season have the Tricky Trees travelled home from Old Trafford with a victory to their name.

Kick-off:

Wednesday, 1 February, 8:00 PM (GMT)

Thursday, 2 February, 1:30 AM (IST)

Manchester United Form(all competitions): W-W-D-L-W-W

Nottingham Forest (all competitions): W-L-W-W-D-L

Players to watch

Manchester United

Marcus Rashford

He has produced some of his best football playing from the left – a position that provides many of the Premier League’s most potent goalscorers. His pace, both when running at defenders with the ball and making runs beyond his opponent without it, means he is a threat wherever he plays. He is a player in red-hot form and is recently very consistent with his performance this season. In every match, he is creating a huge impact on the team and is continuously helping his team to get points in the premier league. His improvement under the new manager has been immense.

Nottingham Forest

Danilo dos Santos de Oliveira(Danilo)

He possesses an impressive passing range, consistently able to pick out forward runs by teammates from the base of the midfield with sweeping diagonal switches of play. Despite his size, Danilo is surprisingly agile and is often able to dribble and turn out of trouble in a congested midfield. He will be key for Forest in this match.

Match Facts

• Manchester United are the first side ever to win eight consecutive meetings with Nottingham Forest in all competitions.
• Nottingham Forest lost a League Cup Semi-Final game for the very first time, in what was their 13th match at this stage of the competition 
• Nottingham Forest suffered their first defeat at the City Ground since September, ending a run of eight home games without a loss in all competitions

Injury and team news

Man United did not come through their win over Reading unscathed, as key midfielder Christian Eriksen left the stadium on crutches after suffering an ankle injury, and the Danish lynchpin is not expected to make a miraculous recovery in time for the second leg. Eriksen joins Donny van de Beek, Axel Tuanzebe, Anthony Martial and Diogo Dalot on the sidelines. While Jadon Sancho's participation is still up in the air as he adapts to team training again. The same can be said for Scott McTominay and Luke Shaw after both men missed the FA Cup clash.

Nottingham Forest attacker Morgan Gibbs-White also left the field with an ankle problem in the first-leg loss to Man United, and while the extent of the damage is still unclear, he is not expected to make a rapid recovery in time for Wednesday. A well-occupied Forest treatment room also holds Moussa Niakhate, Giulian Biancone, Taiwo Awoniyi, Cheikhou Kouyate, Omar Richards and Dean Henderson, the latter of whom would not be able to face his parent club anyway.

Head-to-head

Matches - 80

Manchester United - 39

Nottingham Forest - 24

Draws - 17

Predicted Lineup

Manchester United Predicted LIneup(4-2-3-1):

De Gea; Wan-Bissaka, Martinez, Varane, Shaw; Casemiro, Fred; Elanga, Fernandes, Garnacho; Weghorst

Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineup(4-3-3):

Hennessey; Aurier, Worrall, Boly, Lodi; Mangala, Danilo, Freuler; Scarpa; Johnson, Dennis

Prediction

United can ease past this challenge, but they have to be focused as forest can be a threat in the counter. But the red Devi have the three-goal lead and can comfortably win this game and go to the next round. A couple of changes in the final third may mean that the margin of victory is not as emphatic as the first leg was, but even a refreshed Forest side should not threaten a spectacular comeback at the Old Trafford fortress.

Prediction: Man United 2-0 Nottm Forest

Telecast

India- N/A

UK- BBC Sport and ITC sport

USA- ESPN

Nigeria- Supersport.com