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Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest in the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg at Villa Park on Thursday evening.
The Villans lost 1-0 at the City Ground, giving Forest a slight advantage ahead of this clash.
Match preview
Villa suffered a 2-1 home loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday, extending their losing streak to three games across all competitions.
However, they have won all six of their home games in the Europa League, giving them some encouragement ahead of this clash.
Manager Unai Emery is also the most successful manager in the competition’s history, having won it four times.
Villa struggled at Forest and need a significantly improved performance to reach the final.
They will need to start strongly and use the support of their home fans to pile pressure on the visitors. Winning the midfield battle could be crucial.
Villa are likely to dominate possession, and need to be careful of turnovers, given Forest’s pace on the counter.
The visitors head into this clash with better momentum and form. Monday’s victory at Chelsea extended their unbeaten streak to 10 matches across all competitions.
Forest have improved since manager Vitor Pereira’s appointment in February. They look well poised to avoid relegation and could win their first European title in 46 years.
They outplayed Villa in the first leg, though they relied on Chris Wood’s penalty to secure the victory. They recorded 1.56 expected goals (xG), higher than the West Midlands side’s 0.79 xG.
They are likely to maintain a compact shape here, while attacking through the flanks.
Forest have won just two away games in the competition and are winless in their last 10 trips to Villa, losing the last four, raising concerns ahead of Thursday’s showdown.
Team news
Villa remain without Boubacar Kamara and Alysson, while Amadou Onana is being monitored.
Forest have several injury concerns with goalkeeper John Victor, Nicolo Savona, Willy Boly and Callum Hudson-Odoi on the treatment table.
Morgan Gibbs-White, Murillo, Jair Cunha, Dan Ndoye and Ibrahim Sangare are doubtful.
Predicted line-ups
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Emi Martinez, Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, Lucas Digne, Youri Tielemans, Amadou Onana, John McGinn, Morgan Rogers, Emi Buendia, Ollie Watkins.
Nottingham Forest (4-4-1-1): Stefan Ortega, Neco Williams, Morato, Nikola Milenkovic, Ola Aina, Nicolas Dominguez, Elliot Anderson, Omari Hutchinson, Morgan Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus, Chris Wood.
Prediction
We predict a 1-1 draw.
Stats from transfermarkt.com & sofascore.co.
