Early team news: Three confirmed starters named ahead of Manchester City vs Nottingham Forest (Premier League)

Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden will be among the starters for Manchester City against Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon, it has been confirmed ahead of kick-off at the Etihad Stadium.

Manchester City return to action in the Premier League this weekend just days after their latest UEFA Champions League adventure and first defence of the European title began at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday night.

Following a late strike from Crvena zvezda in the first-half, a second-half performance inspired by Julian Alvarez’s brace ensured that there would be no shock on matchday one in the group stage, with Pep Guardiola’s side coming out on top 3-1 victors.

Last time out in the top-flight, James Ward-Prowse’s first-half diving header was cancelled out by a Jeremy Doku-inspired comeback goal complimented by efforts from Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland, in another 1-3 scoreline in Manchester City’s favour.

City will be looking to make it six wins from their opening six games in the Premier League this season when they take on Nottingham Forest, as Pep Guardiola and his players continue to cement their position as the division’s leaders during yet another title-defence.

Ahead of the release of the confirmed and official starting line-ups at the Etihad Stadium, a number of sources have began releasing snippets of Pep Guardiola’s starting line-up and matchday squad.

As per The FPL Newsletter, Julian Alvarez and Phil Foden will make up sections of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City starting line-up at the Etihad Stadium against Nottingham Forest on Saturday afternoon.

The same source has further detailed that Jeremy Doku will also start, as the Belgian forward looks to continue his sensational start to life with the Premier League champions after two game-changing performances in his last two appearances.

Josko Gvardiol is among the names to make up Manchester City’s defensive line, according to LazyFPL on X (formerly Twitter), as Pep Guardiola offers some element of rotation to the side that defeated Red Star Belgrade on Tuesday night.

Pep Guardiola and Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper are expected to confirm their respective starting line-ups at approximately 14:00 BST on Saturday afternoon.

Now confirmed.