Victories over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton have put a spring in Ruben Amorim's step, and if he's able to avoid defeat at the City Ground, the narrative surrounding the Portuguese and his Red Devils squad will continue to shift.
Red Devils on a hot streak
To put the side's current run into more context, only leaders Arsenal have picked up more Premier League points than United's 15 (W5, L2) from matchday three.
With 14 goals during that period, United have also outscored every other team in that time.
Key to their resurgence has been the form of Bryan Mbeumo, who has scored or assisted in each of his last three league games (three goals, one assist).
The forward is now only behind Mohamed Salah (15 goals, seven assists) and Erling Haaland (19 goals, three assists) in terms of goal involvements in 2025 in the Premier League, with Mbeumo's total currently standing at 14 goals and six assists.
Forest will be hoping to put a stop to the visitors' recent streak, but they'll need to put on a performance akin to the one against Porto, which was Sean Dyche's first game in charge, rather than the fare which was served up in the 2-0 Premier League defeat to Bournemouth a few days later.
Though results at this point are unlikely to have a defining effect on either team, the associated confidence that wins can bring is obvious.
Forest in the doldrums
United look a totally different team to a month ago, whereas Forest are still in the doldrums - and the relegation places.
Only the terrible form of both Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United is keeping the Tricky Trees from propping up the English top-flight.
Should Fulham and Burnley win in their respective fixtures this weekend and Forest don't, it would mean Dyche's side would then already be six points from safety. Not insurmountable, of course, but still significant.
It will likely take time for the Forest players to get used to Dyche's style of play, too. Going from passing out from the back and involving everyone as a move develops up the pitch to lumping it long and hoping for the best is going to take a while to perfect.
Matz Sels' 25 long passes against Bournemouth were the most by a Forest player this season, which tells its own story, as does the 16.9% stat for long balls more generally in that game (the most under Ange Postecoglou was 8.5%).
If Evangelos Marinakis expected an immediate change in fortunes, he might have to bide his time just a bit longer, however.
Dyche's recent record isn't great
That's because in Dyche's last 14 games as a manager, his team has failed to score in 10 of them. Furthermore, he has the lowest goals-per-game ratio of any manager to take charge of more than 150 Premier League games - 0.97 per game (323 goals in 334 matches).
The hosts will therefore hope that recent results against the Red Devils continue, given that they've won their last three league games against United. However, not since 1910 have they managed four consecutive victories.
Two recent losses at the City Ground don't bode well for the visitors either, though we have to go all the way back to between 1965 and 1967 for the last time that United lost three consecutive away games at Forest.
Over the last six head-to-head encounters dating back to April 2023, both clubs have three wins each, and at least two goals have been scored in four of those games.
Cunha and Mbeumo the ones to watch
Amorim will also look to Matheus Cunha as a potential match-winner, as he too is finally coming into his own after a slow start to his Old Trafford career.
His goal against Brighton was his first in 16 games for club or country, and a seventh from outside the box since the start of last season, more than any Premier League player in all competitions.
Whilst with previous club, Wolves, he scored three and assisted for four more goals against teams that started the match day in the relegation places, which is something that Forest should have in the back of their minds too.
What's also interesting in relation to United is that they've had the most shots on target of any team in the Premier League this season (47) and are second in terms of total shots (135). However, their conversion rate of just 15% puts them as the 11th best team in this regard.
If the pendulum could swing a little more in their direction when it comes to execution of chances, Amorim could banish the first few months of his tenure to the history books once and for all.
Forest need to solve striking problems
Forest's 85% pass completion puts them as the fifth best in the English top-flight in this regard, and with Elliot Anderson having made 680 passes alone already this season, it's a shame his striking colleagues haven't been able to replicate his excellence.
Chris Wood's paltry two goals see him the top scorer at present for Forest, whose 7% shot conversion makes them the worst finishers in the division.
If Dyche wants to effect genuine change, and quickly, then it's abundantly clear what area needs the most attention.
A great match is in prospect, and with both sides conceding most of their goals in the final 15 minutes of games, expect some fun and games late on!
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