Manchester United finally return to Premier League action on Tuesday evening, as they host Nottingham Forest at Old Trafford.
Goals from Christian Eriksen and Marcus Rashford handed United a comfortable 2-0 win against Burnley in the Carabao Cup in their first competitive game since the finale of the 2022 World Cup, with the victory booking Erik ten Hag's side's spot in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Going into the Christmas game-week, United sat fifth in the Premier League table, just three points behind Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand. Wednesday's opposition Forest started to find form before the break, so it will be interesting to see how Steve Cooper's side could perform after the long pause in the season.
Axel Tuanzebe, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane will all be absent on Wednesday, with the latter two both having taken part in the 2022 World Cup final. Jadon Sancho will miss out again after being deemed unfit by Ten Hag, whilst Harry Maguire and Diogo Dalot could return to the squad after missing the Carabao Cup clash with Burnley last week.
So, could United mark their return to the Premier League with three points? We simulated the game to find out.
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
It was the ideal start to the game for United in the simulation, with Ten Hag's side taking the lead after just 43 seconds of the game. Straight from kick-off, a long ball forward from Luke Shaw was headed forward by Casemiro, with the midfielder's flick falling at the feet of Marcus Rashford.
The Forest defence were all over the place as they were caught flat-footed, and Rashford sprayed a pass out to Antony on the wing with Anthony Martial in support. The Brazilian squared his pass to the feet of Martial, and the Frenchman powered a powerful strike into the top corner to put United ahead.
After the early goal, United maintained their control, dominating the battle in midfield and managing the tempo of the game. Bruno Fernandes and Rashford were the two standouts of the first half, and the former grabbed an assist as United went two goals ahead.
Similar to the first goal, a switch in play saw Antony pick up the ball, and a smart piece of skill saw the winger beat his man with ease and enter the box. Antony laid off the ball to Fernandes who looked destined to shoot, but the midfielder smartly hooked a pass across to Martial, and the striker found the top corner again to extend their lead.
Martial was denied a hat-trick just before the break when he broke through on goal, but the Frenchman struck the post after rounding the 'keeper from a tight angle. Forest had offered little threat going forward in the first half, but completely against the run of play they pulled a goal back with the last kick of the half.
A sloppy pass from Casemiro saw Jack Colback win possession inside United's half, and the midfielder spotted the run of Ryan Yates who was unmarked in the box. With the ball at his feet, Yates took his time to shoot, and a poor effort took a wicked deflection off the backtracking Victor Lindelof, sending the ball through the legs of David De Gea and into the net.
With the deficit halved, Forest were inspired in the second half, causing much bigger problems for the United backline. De Gea made some big saves to keep the lead intact, and Ten Hag's side defended well to see out the victory.
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that United could beat Nottingham Forest 2-1 at Old Trafford on Wednesday night. Fully fit, Martial could impress with an early brace, but United allowed Forest to get back into the game, setting up a nervy final 45 minutes in the simulation.