Fixtures
- Nottingham Forest Vs. Aston Villa – Sat, Dec 14th 2024, 17:30
Aston Villa go in search of their fourth-straight victory on Saturday, travelling to Nottingham Forest on their return to Premier League action (ko 5.30pm).
Unai Emery’s side visit the City Ground having secured another three points in the Champions League in midweek, harnessing momentum from back-to-back league wins at Villa Park over Brentford and Southampton.
The Villans now look to leapfrog Forest in the Premier League table, with whom they share the same amount of points, while aiming for their first victory in Nottingham since the hosts’ promotion back to the top flight.
Villa have fallen to defeat just once in their last eight meetings with Forest, with two wins in the past three matches between the two sides.
The two-time European Cup winners have made an impressive start to the season, Nuno Espírito Santo’s side currently sitting fifth in the league after 15 games.
A mixed recent run of results has seen them fall to defeats against Newcastle United, Arsenal and Manchester City, though they’ll enter the clash with confidence on the back of a thrilling 3-2 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford last weekend.
Stats
Jhon Durán – who turns 21 the day before the game – has scored ten Premier League goals for Aston Villa, netting the winner in four of their seven wins this season. He’s one of three players to score 10 goals for Villa before turning 21, along with Gabby Agbonlahor (13) and Luke Moore (11).
Chris Wood is one of only four players to score 10+ Premier League goals this season – he is the first Nottingham Forest player to score 10 Premier League goals in a season before Christmas, while he’s the first Forest player to do so in a league season since Lewis Grabban in the Championship in 2021-22.
Morgan Gibbs-White both scored and assisted in Nottingham Forest’s 3-2 victory at Old Trafford, the fifth time he’s scored and assisted in a Premier League game for Forest, the joint most of any player along with Ian Woan.
Nottingham Forest are fifth in the Premier League but have lost each of their last six Premier League games when they’ve gone into a match in the top five of the division, scoring just twice and conceding 20 goals across these six defeats which range from 1995 to 2024.
Aston Villa have lost each of their last three away league games, their longest such run since losing four in a row from May to August 2022. All three defeats in their current spell have been by 2+ goals – the Villans last lost more in succession by such a margin on the road in the league in September 1968 as a second-tier side (5).
Nottingham Forest have won three of their last four home games in the Premier League (L1), as many as their previous 17 beforehand (W3 D4 L10). They have also kept three clean sheets in those last four, as many as they had in their previous 30 at the City Ground in the competition.
This will be Nottingham Forest’s 5,000th match in the top four tiers of English football, the 12th side to reach that milestone in English Football League history.
Aston Villa are winless in their last five Premier League away games against Nottingham Forest, though four of these have ended level (L1). Their last such victory was in January 1995 under Brian Little (2-1).
Nottingham Forest have won just one of their last 11 Premier League games against Aston Villa (D5 L5), though it was a 2-0 victory in this exact fixture last season.
The Last Meeting
The last meeting between the two sides, back in February, saw Villa strengthen their case for a Champions League spot, with a 4-2 win at Villa Park.
An entertaining encounter saw Emery’s men take a commanding three-goal lead into the half-time break, as a double from Douglas Luiz added to Ollie Watkins’ early opener.
But Forest rallied, taking momentum into the break after Moussa Niakhaté bundled home on the stroke of half-time, before Morgan Gibbs-White pulled them to within one goal minutes after the restart.
However, it would be Villa’s day, as Watkins squared for Leon Bailey just after the hour mark, who made no mistake in tapping into the empty net and sealing the three points for the hosts.
Team News
Unai Emery said Ollie Watkins will be monitored in the build-up to the game before a decision is made on the striker’s fitness.
Leon Bailey and Jacob Ramsey have both missed the past few games and there was no update on their status.
Nuno Espírito Santo claimed he had “no big issues” on the injury front ahead of the clash.
Àlex Moreno will be unable to face Villa as his parent club, while Forest will be without Danilo (ankle) and Ibrahim Sangare (hamstring), who remain long-term absentees.
Managers’ Pre-Match Thoughts
“Forest are always a respected team for us. They’re now a rival because they are with the same points that we have. They are doing an amazing job, an amazing season. Last season we played in different circumstances and lost there. I know how much difficulties we are going to face tomorrow. They have Nuno and he was their coach when we played at Villa Park. I can see Nottingham Forest with his face, his identity. He’s always very competitive, Nuno.” – Unai Emery
“Villa are a very good team, with the way they manage the game, their possession, the way they defend and the way they use the talent of their players. It is a big task ahead of us.” – Nuno Espírito Santo
