Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 6/10
Bookmaker: Betfair
Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will cross swords at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon, within round 30 of the Premier League season.
Both teams have a lot to fight for at this point, with much to win, and much to lose.
Aston Villa
Having invested a lot of money in recent years, of course, within bounds of reason and their financial abilities, Aston Villa are finally showing some real progress. After 29 rounds, they sit in seventh place with 44 points, nine less than Newcastle in third and Manchester United in fourth, six less than Tottenham Hotspur, two less than Brighton and Hove Albion, and one more than Liverpool and Brentford in eighth and ninth, respectively.
Having narrowly escaped relegation in 2019, Villa have progressed steadily, and Unai Emery, who took the reins in November last year, has this team fighting for a place in Europe now. His team will see this match against relegation-threatened opposition as a good opportunity to strengthen their case.
Back in mid-February, Villa were beaten in consecutive matches by the two teams currently competing for the Premier League title – defending champions Manchester City and current leaders Arsenal, and they’ve been undefeated since, winning five of the six matches played in that time. The marvelous run includes a 0-2 win away to Everton, a 1-0 win at home over Crystal Palace, a 1-1 draw away to West Ham, a 3-0 win over Bournemouth at home, a great 0-2 win away to Chelsea, and a 1-2 win away to Leicester City earlier this week.
At the King Power Stadium, Villa took the lead through Ollie Watkins in the 24th minute and saw it cancelled out by Harvey Barnes in the 35th. But following the dismissal of Leicester midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall in the 70th, Emery’s men were able to turn the volume up lat on, and Bertrand Traore made sure the points went with his team to Birmingham three minutes before the end.
Team News
As he prepares his team for Forest’s visit, Emery won’t be able to call upon former Liverpool and Barcelona man Philippe Coutinho (thigh), defender Matty Cash (calf), midfielder Boubacar Kamara (ankle) and third-choice goalkeeper Jed Steer (calf).
The first choice between the posts is, of course, World Cup winner Emiliano Martinez. Tyrone Mings and Ezri Konsa should pair up in the heart of defence, flanked by Lucas Digne and veteran Ashley Young. Douglas Luiz is expected to anchor the midfield, with captain John McGinn and young Jacob Ramsey by his side. Despite scoring the winning goal against Leicester, Traore will probably return to the bench, which means Watkins should be flanked by Leon Bailey and Emiliano Buendia in attack.
Nottingham Forest
Having earned promotion to the Premier League, Forest took the challenge seriously as it were, and signed no less than 23 new players before the season started. However, apart from a short patch or two of fine performances and some excellent results, things generally haven’t gone the way manager Steve Cooper and his bosses would’ve wanted, and despite everything they’ve done, the team are still pretty much fighting to survive.
Goal-difference is the only parameter keeping Forest out of the red zone at the moment, as they sit 17th and share the tally of 27 points with Bournemouth in 18th, Everton in 16th and West Ham in 15th. Their case could easily become worse, unless they get at least something on the board at Villa Park. Leicester in 19th and Southampton at the bottom are only two and four points behind, respectively.
Team News
Striker Chris Wood will not play again this season, due to a serious thigh problem. Cooper also won’t be able to count on goalkeeper Dean Henderson (thigh), centre-back Willy Boly (thigh), right-back Giulian Biancone (knee, also out for the season), and left-back Omar Richards (calf).
Apart from that, there are several question marks for this match. Right-back Serge Aurier (unspecified injury), forwards Emmanuel Denis (unspecified injury) and Jesse Lingard (Achilles, knee), centre-back Scott McKenna (thigh) and midfielder Ryan Yates (shoulder), are classed as doubts at this point.
Keylor Navas will be in goal. Moussa Niakhate and Felipe will likely be the centre-back duo, with Neco Williams on the right, while Renan Lodi could come in to replace Harry Toffolo on the left side of the back line. In the middle of the park, Remo Freuler should be joined by Orel Mangala and Danilo. If Lingard and Denis aren’t ready to play from the start, striker Taiwo Awoniyi will likely have Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson by his side, though veteran Andre Ayew will be pushing for a start as well.
Conclusion
Despite the severity of their need for points, it’s hard to imagine Forest going home with anything to lift their hopes in the race for survival. Villa are simply too good, and they won’t want to miss this chance to take advantage of the visitors’ struggles to further their cause in the battle for Europe.
Verdict: Home win
Best odds: 6/10
Bookmaker: Betfair
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