45+1 min: With rain pouring down at the City Ground, the first half draws to a close. City have been outstanding in the face of their exalted visitors, with Igor Jesus proving a real handful for City’s defenders. It’s half-time …

42 min: Milenkovic picks out Williams with an excellent crossfield pass. The Welshman slips the ball to Murillo, who gives it away to Cherki with a poor touch. Elliot Anderson is booked as he and Murillo dive in to try to prevent Cherki waltzing goalwards.

41 min: Nico O’Reilly sends a low cross from the left into the Forest box but it’s hacked clear by Milenkovic. Moments later, Bernardo Silva gets in on the crossing action and this time it’s Murillo who hoofs the ball upfield.

39 min: Neco Williams sends a cross from the left through the City penalty area but there’s nobody wearing a red shirt in the vicinity to steer it goalwards.

37 min: Free-kick for City, about 35 yards from the City goal. The ball is played wide to Hutchinson but ends up going out for a City goal-kick a few seconds later after he overhits a pass to Savona.

36 min: Josko Gvardiol does well to avoid a booking after putting a stop to a promising Forest attack by grabbing a generous handful of Igor Jesus’s shirt. Play resumes and moments later, Ruben Dias gets booked for dissent.

33 min: Forest are giving Manchester City far more to think about this afternoon than I expected and have had the best chance of the game to date. It’s an absorbing encounter without being thrilling but if the hosts could score the opening goal it would certainly put the Christmas cat among the Pep pigeons.

30 min: From that set-piece, they win another one but before they can take it, there’s a bit of argy-bargy between Milenkovic and Ruben Dias for the ref to sort out. Omari Huthinson’s delivery is short to Anderson, whose cross is awful. A short corner? Woke nonsense!!!

29 min: Hutchinson picks out Savona on the overlap and the Forest full-back tries to drill a low cross into the penalty area. Gvardiol puts it out for a corner.

27 min: In a blow for both Chris Wood and Nottingham Forest, it has been revealed that the New Zealand striker has suffered a setback from the knee injury that has kept him sidelined for the past two months and has had to undergo further surgery. Having been back training on the grass, it seems he’s back to square one and will be out indefinitely.

25 min: Forest free-kick, in line with the right side of the City penalty area. The ball’s played wide to Hutchinson, whose cross is headed clear.

25 min: Neco Williams and then Murillo combine to prevent Rayan Cherki playing Haaland in behind on goal after a promising attack by City.

22 min: City continue to dominate possession but Forest’s frontmen are pressing them hard, refusing to allow them much time on the ball as they attempt to get it forward.

21 min: Erling Haaland gets his first sight of goal and shoots but his effort is blocked by Milenkovic.

20 min: They may be 17th in the table, just one place above the relegation zone but on the evidence of these opening 20 minutes, Forest are – whisper it – far too good to go down.

18 min: Gibbs-White receives the ball to feet with his back to the City goal, spins Josko Gvardiol and darts upfield leaving the bamboozled Croatian in his wake. The ball ends up with Elliot Anderson out on the right flank but his cross is cleared.

16 min: Nico O’Reilly, Tijani Reijnders and Bernardo Silva combine to good effect down the left flank but a promising City attack fizzles out into nowt as Nicolo Savona shepherds the ball out for a Forest goal-kick.

14 min: Gvardiol plays a low pass through the centre for Foden, who comes this close to playing Haaland in behind as he quickly helps the ball on its way upfield. I think it was Murillo who made the the crucial interception as Haaland’s eyes lit up in anticipation.

12 min: Omari Hutchinson takes a corner for Forest, curling the ball towards the far post. City head it clear. Forest are doing well, here.

10 min: There’s a VAR check for a possible spot-kick as Rayan Cherki goes down in the Forest penalty area under a challenge from Nikola Milenkovic. It looked like a good tackle to me and in the Stockley Park bunker, video assistant referee Andy Madley is of the same opinion.

9 min: If Igor Jesus hadn’t stretched every sinew to try to connect with that Hudson-Odoi cross, you’d have bet the farm on Gibbs-White volleying past Donnarumma.

7 min: Igor Jesus sends Omari Hutchinson on his way down the right flank but the Forest winger runs into traffic and is forced backwards. The passage of play continues and moments later, Callum Hudson-Odoi curls a splendid cross towards the far post from the left. Jesus and Morgan Gibbs-White seem to get in each other’s way as they attempt to connect with the delivery and the ball curls wide. That was a big chance for Forest!

6 min: Matheus Nunes advances down the right for City but has the ball stolen from him by Nicolas Dominguez, who boots it forward to alleviate the pressure on Forest.

4 min: Morgan Gibbs-White loses the ball halfway inside the City half and City advance again. On the touchline, Pep is already gesticulating furiously like a traffic policeman on amphetamines.

3 min: City get the collective foot on the ball and start to dominate possession in these early stages as they press and probe, looking for an opening.

2 min: Forest are in their usual home kit, while the players of City wear grey shirts and shorts with luminous yellow trim and similarly arresting socks.

John Robertson remembered: There’s a raucous and prolonged pre-match round of applause punctuated by chants of “Robbo! Robbo! Robbo!” for the late Forest legend, who is described by the City Ground announcer as “a true great”.

Not long now: Soundtracked by Welcome To The Jungle, referee Rob Jones and his fellow match officials lead both sets of players out on to the City Ground pitch, where there’ll be a tribute to the late John ‘Robbo’ Robertson ahead of kick-off. There are no shortage of flags bearing the late, great winger’s image to be seen in the stands.

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Today’s match officials

• Referee: Rob Jones

• Assistants: Neil Davies and Nick Greenhalgh

• Fourth official: Gavin Ward

• VAR: Andy Madley

• Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan

Those teams: Nicolas Dominguez comes in for Douglas Luiz as Forest’s only change to the team that lined up against Fulham last time out, while the same 11 players who started for City in their win over West Ham all passed their Boxing Day weigh-in and have been picked to do battle again.

Early team news

Chris Wood remains sidelined for Forest but is back gambolling on the grass as he recovers from the knee injury that has kept him out since mid-October. Ola Aina is also out, while Dan Doye and Ryan Yates were facing late fitness tests. Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly are both away in Morocco representing the Ivory Coast at Afcon.

Manchester City are without Rayan Ait Nouri (Algeria) and Omar Marmoush (Egypt), who are both at Afcon, while Jeremy Doku is expected to miss out today with an ankle injury. John Stones, Oscar Bobb, Rodri and Mateo Kovacic are also unavailable.