The term sleeping giant is perhaps one that Nottingham Forest fans are tired of hearing, but clearly, the City Ground side has a very impressive history. Now back in the English top tier, the club that won back-to-back European Cup titles in the late 1970s will be looking to secure a long-term stretch in the Premier League.
The club had issues following their 1999 relegation from the top division, finding themselves sinking to the third tier of the English pyramid and staying there for three seasons before their upturn in fortunes started to kick in.
An extended period in the EFL Championship finally came to an end in 2022 when Steve Cooper secured promotion, and the club is in a far healthier place than it has been for decades.
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Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United History
There are a host of connections between these two teams, with a plethora of star players having played for both Nottingham Forest and Manchester United, and here is a selection of the biggest names to have done so.
Manchester United signed midfielder Roy Keane from Forest in 1993, and the combative Irishman went on to become a true Old Trafford legend, playing 480 times for the club and helping them to seven Premier League titles, four FA Cup triumphs, and the 1998-99 UEFA Champions League, albeit he sat out the final against Bayern Munich.
Other players to have played for both include Garry Birtles, Peter Davenport, Neil Webb, Andy Cole, Viv Anderson, and Teddy Sheringham.
Nottingham Forest vs Manchester United Head to Head
In 1998-99 Nottingham Forest sunk to new lows. They finished rock bottom of the Premier League, and three different managers took the City Ground helm as they floundered. In this particular season, the club also suffered a stunning loss to Manchester United, and it’s a game that will live long in the memory of both home and away fans for very differing reasons.
Dwight Yorke put Manchester United ahead after just two minutes, but defender Alan Rogers quickly responded, scoring for Forest with six minutes on the clock. Andy Cole put Sir Alex Ferguson’s side ahead just a minute later, but Ron Atkinson’s side hung on to keep the score down to 2-1 at the break.
Four minutes into the second half Cole made it 3-1, and Yorke scored his second to give United an unassailable 4-1 lead, and he was subbed by Ferguson to give Ole Gunnar Solskjaer a run-out and the Norwegian swiftly wrote himself into the record books.
The baby-faced assassin scored on 80 minutes and then proceeded to go into overdrive, scoring three more goals in the space of four minutes to complete a whopping 8-1 away win that left Forest dumbfounded.
The fortunes of the two sides, following the result, could not have been more different. With Forest going on to be relegated, spending the subsequent 20+ seasons out of the top flight, and Manchester United went on to win a memorable treble of Premier League, FA Cup, and UEFA Champions League successes.
In 2022/23, the two teams met four times. In January 2023, the first leg of their EFL Cup Semi-Final took place at the City Ground, and Erik Ten Hag’s side eased to a 3-0 win thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford, Wout Weghorst, and Bruno Fernandes. They went on to win the second leg 2-0 and lifted the trophy following a sedate victory over Newcastle United.
They met in Premier League action in this corresponding fixture in April 2023 and once again made light work of Forest. This time it was Brazilian winger Antony and Portuguese full-back Diogo Dalot that did the damage in a 2-0 win.
