The second Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will take place at Villa Park on Saturday. Nottingham Forest have already claimed a 2-1 victory at their first meeting but Aston Villa plans to keep their home streak alive through this matchup for European football qualification.
Recent Form and Key Stats
The team at Aston Villa recently defeated Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 during their away match while achieving goals from Marcus Rashford and Marco Asensio and Donyell Malen. Nottingham Forest earned a significant club achievement after defeating Manchester United 1-0 through the successful strike of Anthony Elanga.
Head-to-Head Record & Notable Trends
- Aston Villa remain undefeated in all of their last eight league home match-ups against Nottingham Forest (five wins and three draws) after losing by 2-0 in October 1994. The Villans managed to score two or more goals in their previous seven home clashes against Forest.
- Nottingham Forest fights to double their points against Aston Villa after defeating them 2-1 at the City Ground last December in their quest to claim a league cleanup since 1984-85.
- The home Premier League matches of Villa show an unbeaten streak of 14 games (7 wins and 7 draws) starting from their Arsenal loss in August.
- Since May 2024 Nottingham Forest have achieved 10 away Premier League victories and 2 draws and 5 losses in this period which mirrors their total number of previous 74 away matches victories.
- The 225 shots taken by Aston Villa throughout their 15 home matches serve as their record high this season at 15 shots per match since 2003-04.
- The current away success record of Nottingham Forest at 54% stands as the best in their Premier League history.
Team News & Probable Lineups
Aston Villa
Manager Unai Emery has a nearly full squad available, with only Lewis Dobbin and Ross Barkley missing due to injury.
Predicted XI: E. Martinez (GK); M. Cash, E. Konsa, P. Torres, L. Digne; B. Kamara, Y. Tielemans, J. McGinn, M. Rogers, M. Asensio, M. Rashford.
Nottingham Forest
Ola Aina is a doubt for Forest after limping off in their recent win over Manchester United.
Predicted XI: M. Sels (GK); N. Williams, N. Milenkovic, Murillo, R. Yates; E. Anderson, Danilo; A. Elanga, M. Gibbs-White, C. Hudson-Odoi; T. Awoniyi.
Key Players to Watch
- Forward Marcus Rashford (Aston Villa) maintains a strong run of performance which helps his team score valuable attacking goals.
- The forward Marco Asensio struck a double in all three Aston Villa home games while scoring six times throughout that run.
- Chris Wood (Nottingham Forest) has scored three times in six Premier League matches against Aston Villa along with helping Forest reach 10 away goals from his eight goals and two assists this season.
Match Prediction
Competitive match conditions are anticipated because Nottingham Forest maintain an impressive away performance while both clubs are currently displaying strong competition power. The attacking force of Villa along with their home record defense makes Villa Park an incredibly difficult place for their opponents. This match could produce a satisfactory result for both teams unless they score goals.
Prediction: Aston Villa 2-1 Nottingham Forest (Over 2.5 total goals).