Nottingham Forest Form
Pereira's team have made good use of a relatively soft schedule in European competition and the Premier League, significantly improving their results. Nottingham Forest edged past Midtjylland in the Europa League (3:2 on aggregate despite losing at home) and Porto (2:1). In the second leg against the Portuguese side, the hosts played with a man advantage for the entire match after going 1:0 up in the 12th minute — they managed to protect that lead, but the opposition still created plenty (3:3 in shots on target). Heavy wins over Burnley (4:1) and Sunderland (5:0) should not be misleading — those were teams with little motivation, while the hosts have still not mathematically secured their Premier League status.
Important Numbers for Nottingham Forest:
In their last eight matches, Pereira's team have conceded a total of four goals.
Forest have scored only 18 goals in 17 home Premier League matches this season. Only three teams have scored fewer.
Forest have gone over 2.5 goals in just three of their last 12 home matches.
Potential Nottingham Forest Lineup
(4-4-2): Matz Sels — Neco Williams, Jair Cunha, Nikola Milenkovic, Ola Aina — Morgan Gibbs-White, Elliot Anderson, Ibrahim Sangare, Omari Hutchinson — Chris Wood, Igor Jesus.
Unavailable: Willy Boly, Nicolo Savona, Callum Hudson-Odoi (all injured).
Aston Villa Form
Before losing to Fulham (0:1), Emery's team had gone six matches without defeat (five wins and one draw). Aston Villa demolished Bologna in the Europa League quarter-finals, winning 7:1 on aggregate and with Watkins scoring three times. Even more impressive was their defensive display — the solid Italian club accumulated just 1.81 xG over 180 minutes, which is quite low given Emery's aggressive style. Unlike Forest, the visitors can fully focus on the Europa League — they are already certain to finish inside the Premier League's top five and should be targeting the trophy.
Important Numbers for Aston Villa:
Since 22 January, Emery's team have gone under 2.5 goals in seven of nine away matches.
Aston Villa have scored 20 away goals in the Premier League — the worst record among teams with 20+ points on the road.
Aston Villa have only one player in the top 30 Europa League scorers — Watkins with 4+1.
Potential Aston Villa Lineup
(4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez — Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash — Youri Tielemans, Lamare Bogarde — Emiliano Buendia, Morgan Rogers, John McGinn — Ollie Watkins.
Unavailable: Boubacar Kamara, Amadou Onana (both injured).
