- History: Forest have failed to win in three away games against Villa.
- Home form: Villa have scored 0.00 goals per home game in the Premier League 2026/2027, conceding 1.00.
- Away form: Forest have scored 2.00 and conceded 2.00 goals per away game in the Premier League 2026/2027.
Forest and Villa meet at Villa Park
Aston Villa are 17th in the Premier League 2026/2027 with 1 point after three games, so the pressure is already on in the Villans' dugout. They've lost 4-0 away to Brighton, 1-0 at home to Arsenal and 0-0 away to Hull City in recent games. Unai Emery's approach, which is very structured and vertical, should keep the side organised even if results wobble. But 0 wins, 1 draw and 4 defeats in their last five games across all competitions is a very poor run for a club of their stature.
Nottingham Forest, by contrast, are 16th with 2 points from three games so it is all still very finely poised. Forest have lost 2-0 at home to Leeds in the EFL Cup, but then earned a 2-2 draw away to Liverpool and a 0-0 draw at home to Tottenham in the league. Glasner's style is much more proactive, wing-driven and built for quick transitions, but it remains to be seen whether he can get Forest scoring enough goals to maintain a Premier League 2026/2027 position.
A tale of two styles
Tactical contrast
Glasner, who took the reigns on 6 July 2026, has brought in a completely different style of play that relies on quick counters, wide rotations and situational pressing to spring traps. Villa, on the other hand, have been playing the same style since Emery took charge on 1 November 2022. They are all about controlling the build-up, selective pressing and fast verticality once in front of the opposition box. This should create some end-to-end play with Villa trying to dictate the flow and Forest looking to break the lines.
Betting and history
Villa certainly have the better of the recent H2H record, winning 3 of the last 5 matches, with Forest winning 1 and 1 being drawn.
- Villa are the clear favourites here at 1.98 with Forest at 3.85 and the draw at 3.55.
- The last meeting was 4 months ago, at Villa Park, and Villa won 4-0 in the UEFA Europa League 2025/2026.
- Forest have also failed to win in their three away league games against Villa, so this isn't a happy hunting ground.
Forest’s fresh approach
There's not much to separate these two sides but the goals markets are quite wide. Both teams to score at 1.74 and under 2.5 goals at 1.97 look the way to go, but there's still a feeling that Villa are the more likely winner in the historical head-to-head. But this should be tight and tense rather than a wide-open shootout.
