Nottinghamshire

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Two Premier League heavyweights are set to face each other this weekend at Etihad Stadium, as Manchester City host Arsenal.

Both teams go into the fixture with different targets. For Mikel Arteta's side, it is about extending their lead at the top of the table. For Pep Guardiola's side, it is about closing the gap and keeping themselves in the title race.

It is a fixture being labelled a title decider by some, so we want to know who you want to win this Sunday's match.

Will you be cheering on the Citizens or getting behind the Gunners?

Make your selection

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Nottingham Forest head coach Vitor Pereira has a big decision to make before his side's Europa League quarter-final second leg against Porto on Thursday (20:00 BST).

Pereira made nine changes to his starting XI for the first leg and a much-altered team earned a 1-1 draw in Portugal.

Only Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White kept their places for Sunday's Premier League draw with Aston Villa, which moved Forest three points clear of the relegation zone.

The Reds are back on home turf at the City Ground on Thursday, so should Pereira rotate again with the Premier League survival battle in mind, or go all out in the hope of reaching a European semi-final?

Get in touch with your views here

Pat Riddell
Fan writer

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The irony of the Premier League's top clubs faltering at this stage of the season is that Nottingham Forest should have been the ones to take advantage.

After 32 games last season, the Reds were in third place with 57 points. The same points at this stage would have them in third place, two above Manchester United and Aston Villa.

If strengthening the squad last summer could have kept us on the same trajectory, then the depth and quality would have kept us in the race for the Champions League - now confirmed as five places again for the Premier League for next season.

That points tally would put us nine clear of sixth-placed Chelsea and, feasibly, last season's total of 65 points would probably be enough for a place in Europe's top competition.

As it is, football - as Liverpool, and possibly Arsenal, fans will confirm - doesn't always follow logic. And the season we have is the season we have.

Except the opportunity to write our own history, as it was back in August, is still ours to own. Vitor Pereira's steady hand took us closer to a Europa League semi-final last Thursday and Sunday's draw with Aston Villa was a warm-up against our possible opponents should we beat Porto on Thursday.

Pereira is notably the first of our four managers this season to successfully shuffle the squad in a cup game and not be embarrassed.

While hindsight is a wonderful thing, conjecture is also dangerous and each game as it comes is the sensible way to proceed. But if you can't dream in football, what can you do?

Forest's season can still go several ways but the redemption arc is one in which our failings in the Premier League could be redeemed by Europa League glory.

A place in the Champions League and Premier League status retained? The dream remains alive.

Find more from Pat Riddell at The Famous Club, external

Ciaran Kelly
Newcastle United reporter

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Some of you have been using our Newcastle Ask Me Anything form to query if there's a sell-on clause for Elliot Anderson.

As far as I'm aware Newcastle would not stand to benefit financially if Anderson left Nottingham Forest.

The club do not have a buy-back option, either.

Ordinarily these clauses would be negotiated during the sale of promising young players, as sides like Manchester City and Chelsea have over the years.

But Newcastle had no bargaining position whatsoever when they sold Anderson to Nottingham Forest in 2024.

The club were desperately attempting to raise funds to avoid a breach of profit and sustainability rules (PSR) and a likely points deduction.

Anderson's subsequent journey to becoming an England starter has been bittersweet for Newcastle head coach Eddie Howe.

Although Anderson has felt the clear benefit of increased game time at Nottingham Forest, Newcastle's backroom staff always believed he was destined for the very top and hoped he could realise his vast potential while playing for his boyhood club.

The midfielder still has huge admirers at all levels at St James' Park, including sporting director Ross Wilson, who helped bring him to Nottingham Forest during his time at the City Ground.

But Anderson appears destined to move elsewhere rather than return to Tyneside.

Ask Me Anything is a service dedicated to answering your questions.

We want to reward your time by telling you things you do not know and reminding you of things you do.

Find out more here

Adwaidh Rajan
BBC Sport journalist

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Getting 36 points on the board should offer a huge psychological boost for Leeds.

Teams finishing on 36 or more points in each of the past nine Premier League seasons have avoided relegation.

In the 20-team Premier League era, starting from the 1995-96 season, the average number of points earned by the team finishing 18th is 35.53.

In those 30 seasons of 38 games, 36 points has ensured survival 60% of the time.

The rate of survival increases to 80% for 38 points, 90% for 40 points and 100% for 43 or more points.

So does that mean Leeds have virtually guaranteed survival this season?

Not really.

That is because this season is on track to be the toughest to survive for a decade.

According to Opta's supercomputer, Tottenham are now favourites to go down at 48.7%. But Spurs, sitting 18th, are on 30 points and projected to finish on 37 by Opta - meaning 38 points would be needed for survival.

West Ham, currently 17th, hold the record for the team relegated with the most points in the 20-team era - in 2002-03 when they picked up 42 points but still went down.

"The reality is that performance-wise we should already [have] far more than 40 points," Daniel Farke said.

"This team has performed over the whole season with unbelievable consistency.

"But we are on 36 points, a few more points are needed. For now, three points closer but nothing is achieved yet."

Read more here

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