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 has had a successful first five games of the season, going 2-0-1 with a draw. Cooper will wait until the very last minute to determine the fitness of his team before hoping to extend this strong form with a victory in Manchester.
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Cooper acknowledged on Thursday that Serge Aurier, who will be out for a few weeks, is closer to recovery than Danilo. “Serge is coming closer; we’re pushing as hard as we can without taking unwarranted risks. We’ll have to wait and see.
“[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 will not have many pleasant memories of the Etihad after witnessing his team get destroyed 6-0 there in August. On that particular day, Erling Haaland scored three goals in the first 38 minutes, and there was a sense that Pep Guardiola’s team could have continued and added 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 practise on Wednesday. Guardiola gave an update on the injured group and said Kovacic might have a chance.
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