- Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest drew 1-1 in their April meeting at the City Ground
- Aston Villa defeated Nottingham Forest 3-1 at home in January 2026
- Forest have gone unbeaten in their last four matches, winning their last three (including the first leg)
Narrow scoreline means nothing to prove at Villa Park
Aston Villa enter the second leg of their Europa League semi-final with Nottingham Forest 1-0 down in the aggregate and needing at least two goals to avoid extra-time in what could be a nerve-wracking night at Villa Park.
Forest are enjoying their first European semi-final in decades and the weight of history adds to the tension that has followed the two clubs through the competition. Forest will look to preserve their narrow lead and strike on the break on Thursday, which should lead to an end-to-end match as Villa are forced to be more open than usual.
Unai Emery is a specialist in this competition and has multiple Europa League titles to his name, but he will want to avoid the extra time that could prove fatal to his team’s top-five Premier League push. Emery’s teams are always highly organised, managing the tempo of matches through compact lines, selective pressing and fast vertical attacks. The presence of Ollie Watkins up front and Emiliano Buendía behind him has been key to their progress in this Europa campaign, with Buendía supplying key goals and assists to Watkins, who has been their talisman.
Emery’s men may have to be more positive than usual
Forest are a very different animal to the one that Steven Gerrard coached last season and have taken a leaf from Emery’s book with the pragmatic 4-2-3-1 formation they have been playing since Vítor Pereira took over in February. Forest are solid when they need to be, but have been very effective on the counter-attack when able to get wide players to exploit 1v1 situations.
Chris Wood provides a set-piece threat and the calm head from the penalty spot that saw him score the only goal in the first-leg. Igor Jesus has been a brilliant attacking outlet on the right flank for Forest in Europe, but their form player is currently Morgan Gibbs-White, who scored the winner against Porto in the quarter-final.
Forest are in good form and are capable of countering a Villa side that will have to be more adventurous than they usually are. The margin between these two clubs in recent decades is narrow, with Villa holding a slight edge, but Forest are riding high on a three-game winning streak and have carried their momentum into this second leg.
Villans to edge it, but Forest can make it tight
The odds available for this game look about right, with Villa favourites at 1.87, Forest at 4.52 and the draw at 3.86. There’s enough about Forest to make the draw an attractive play in the Full Time result market, but Villa's recent record against Villa and Emery’s European know-how suggest a home win is the most likely outcome, but they could well do so with a tight scoreline and extra-time in the offing.
Backing Both Teams to Score - Yes at 1.85 is an excellent way to play the 2-1 or 2-0 Villa wins that are a slight favourite in the correct score market. Villa will need to be more forward-thinking than they are at home and Forest will be a counter-attacking threat. Amadou Onana’s fitness is a question mark for Villa as Lamare Bogarde has deputised in midfield during their three-game losing streak. Pereira is monitoring a few minor issues, but the visitors are in great form and have enough momentum to pull off a surprise in this clash of the continents.
