Erling Haaland scored a hat-trick in 38 minutes on Forest’s last trip to the Etihad, but Cooper is still upbeat.
When Nottingham Forest plays Manchester City on Saturday at the Etihad, manager Steve Cooper will work to have Serge Aurier and Willy Boly available.
The two missed Forest’s Monday night 1-1 home draw with Burnley because Aurier was injured against Chelsea before the international break and Boly became ill soon before the game. Danilo, a central midfielder, was not present at City Ground and will most likely not play against the Blues this weekend.
Forest have enjoyed a strong start to the season with two wins and a draw from their opening five games. Cooper hopes to continue that good form with a result in Manchester, and will leave it late before deciding on the fitness of his defensive pair.
“Serge [Aurier] is closer than Danilo, who is going to be out for a few weeks,” Cooper admitted on Thursday. “Serge is getting closer, it’s one we’re trying to push as hard as we can without unnecessary risk. We’ll see how that goes.
“[Willy Boly] has returned. He suffered from a disease that can be difficult to recover from. We also keep an eye on him every day, but he is now back with the gang.
“Felipe, who returned with the group, is still dealing with a knee issue. Nothing new since Monday night, but something we’re keeping an eye on.”
Cooper won’t have particularly fond memories of the Etihad, having seen his side thrashed 6-0 last August. Erling Haaland netted a hat-trick inside 38 minutes that day and there was a feeling Pep Guardiola’s side could have kicked on and scored more.
On Saturday, however, he will play against a severely depleted Blues team as Guardiola deals with a plethora of injuries.In the Champions League victory over Crvena Zvezda on Tuesday night, Bernardo Silva became the most recent player to experience a problem. The midfielder will be tested on Thursday.
Silva will be in the treatment room with Kevin De Bruyne, Mateo Kovacic, John Stones, and Jack Grealish, though the latter was seen in practice on Wednesday. Guardiola provided an update on the injured group and said Kovacic might play on Saturday before adding, “We are in trouble.”
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