Man City predicted line-up vs Nottingham Forest as Jeremy Doku starts and star gets new role

Manchester City will be determined to put the brakes on their winless run when they welcome Nottingham Forest to the Etihad Stadium in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.

City, who have won each of their last two meetings with Forest, extended their winless run in all competitions to seven matches with Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield.

Goals either side of half-time from Cody Gakpo and Mohamed Salah condemned City to a sixth defeat in their last seven matches and a fourth league defeat on the spin. City, as a result, are now fifth in the Premier League table, 11 points behind leaders Liverpool.

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Having got themselves stuck in a rut in recent weeks, City will be determined to get back on track against Forest, who are currently just one place and one point behind them in the standings. They got back to winning ways with a 1-0 triumph over Ipswich Town at the weekend.

City were second best at Anfield, meaning boss Pep Guardiola is likely to mix things up in a bid to get his team back on track after a turbulent few weeks.

Guardiola made a surprise call at the weekend, handing a first Premier League appearance of the season to goalkeeper Stefan Ortega. However, he could recall first-choice shot-stopper Ederson for the visit of the Midlands outfit.

The Brazilian has been one of City's better performers so far this season and their recent troubles run a lot deeper than him.

Guardiola has some big calls to make when it comes to his defensive line. City have been far too fragile at the back recently, conceding 19 goals during their winless run.

Kyle Walker has struggled for form in recent weeks and could be replaced at right-back by Rico Lewis, who operated higher up the pitch against Liverpool. There could also be a change in the opposite full-back berth, meaning a recall for Josko Gvardiol.

Should the Croatian get the nod, Nathan Ake may slide across and operate at centre-back alongside Ruben Dias in the heart of the back-four.

As a result of a reshuffle at centre-back, it could see Manuel Akanji step up and operate as the holding-midfielder. He improved as the game went on at Anfield and could be a viable option as City continue to search for Rodri's ideal replacement. He could be joined in midfield by Bernardo Silva and Ilkay Gundogan.

As far as the attack is concerned, Jeremy Doku could bag himself his first league start since the dramatic 2-1 win over Wolves at Molineux in October. He was bright and energetic during his second half cameo at Anfield.

Erling Haaland, despite not being as prolific as usual in recent weeks, remains City's best hope of goals and should lead the attack. Phil Foden could complete the front-three.

City predicted line-up vs Nottingham Forest: Ederson; Lewis, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Akanji, Bernardo, Gundogan; Foden, Haaland, Doku.