Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest: Betting Tips, Match Prediction & Preview

Villa Park hosts Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest this Saturday in the Premier League. Villa are looking to extend their lead in the race for the last Champions League spot whereas Nottingham Forest need a bigger cushion between them and the relegation zone.

• Date: 24/02/2024
• Kick-off time: 15:00
• Location: Villa Park

The bottom half of the table is getting tight, with Nottingham Forest needing a win to get themselves out of the conversation as relegation candidates. Villa, on the other hand, are still thick in the fight for Champions League football.

Aston Villa currently sit fourth in the Premier League after 25 games. Villa have 15 wins, four draws and six losses, leaving them on 49 points, four points from third-place Manchester City and just two points above fifth-place Tottenham.

Villa have been potent in front of goal this season, scoring 52 goals in 25 games, giving them an average of 2.08 goals a game. Aston Villa have been just as good defensively, conceding 33 goals and keeping six clean sheets.

Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, sit 15th in the Premier League. In 25 games, Forest have six wins, six draws and 13 losses which leaves them on 24 points, just five points above the relegation zone.

Forest have struggled in front of goal so far, scoring 32 goals in 25 games, giving them an average of just 1.28 goals a game. Nottingham Forest have struggled at the other end of the pitch, conceding 44 goals and keeping just four clean sheets.

Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest have met 131 times in their histories, with the first meeting coming all the way back in 1880. Villa have the better record in the fixture with 61 wins in comparison to Nottingham Forest’s 39 wins, the other 31 games ending in a draw.

This fixture has had a lot of goals recently, with one game back in 2018 ending in a 5 - 5 draw. Both teams have traded wins, but for three of their last five games against each other, both teams have been on the scoresheet.

Aston Villa

Unai Emery will be without Boubacar Kamara, Emiliano Buendia, Tyrone Mings, Jhon Duran, Diego Carlos and Ezri Konsa this weekend.

Nottingham Forest

Nuno Espirito Santo is also missing a couple players. Chris Wood and Gonzalo Montiel will be unavailable, but Willy Boly, Olaoluwa Aina and Ibrahim Sangare could return.

In their last five games in all competitions, Aston Villa have two wins and three losses.

The visit from Newcastle saw The Magpies take a 2 - 0 lead into halftime through a quickfire brace from Fabian Schar. An own goal from Alex Moreno added a third for Newcastle, and despite a goal from Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa slumped to a 3 - 1 loss.

Villa bounced back the next time out against Sheffield United. John McGinn, Watkins, Leon Bailey and Youri Tielemans all scored in the first half to give Villa the 4 - 0 lead. Moreno scored just two minutes into the second half to secure the 5 - 0 win for Aston Villa.

In the Fourth Round FA Cup Replays, Aston Villa hosted Chelsea after a 0 - 0 draw in the first game. Conor Gallagher and Nicolas Jackson scored in the first half and Enzo Fernandez added a third early in the second half. Moussa Diaby did score in extra time but Chelsea held on for the 3 - 1 win.

Back in the Premier League, Aston Villa faced Manchester United. Rasmus Hojlund gave United the early lead, but Douglas Luiz equalised for Villa just before the 70 minute mark. However, Scott McTominay grabbed a goal in the 86th minute to give United the 2 - 1 win.

The last time out for Villa was against Fulham. Watkins was on the scoresheet again for Villa, this time grabbing a brace. Rodrigo Muniz did get Fulham in the game but Villa secured the 2 - 1 win.

In their last five games in all competitions, Nottingham Forest have one win, two draws and two losses.

Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring in the 65th minute and Bukayo Saka doubled the lead seven minutes later. Taiwo Awoniyi did get on the scoresheet just before the 90 minute mark, but Arsenal held on for the 2 - 1 win.

Bournemouth took an early lead against Forest, Justin Kluivert scoring in the fifth minute. Callum Hudson-Odoi equalised for Forest on the stroke of halftime and even with the red card to Bournemouth’s Philip Billing, the game ended in a 1 - 1 draw.

In the Fourth Round FA Cup Replays, Nottingham Forest took on Bristol City. Divock Origi gave Forest the lead in the eighth minute but Jason Knight equalised within six minutes. The tie was sent to penalties but Sam Bell missed his penalty to give Nottingham Forest the 5 - 3 win.

Back in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest hosted Newcastle. Bruno Guimaraes opened the scoring for Newcastle but Anthony Elanga equalised before the 30 minute mark. Schar then regained the lead for Newcastle but Hudson-Odoi equalised again for Forest before halftime. Guimaraes’ second goal, however, gave Newcastle the 3 - 2 win.

The most recent outing for Nottingham Forest was against West Ham. Awoniyi and Hudson-Odoi were both on the scoresheet in the 2 - 0 win over ten-man West Ham who had Kalvin Phillips sent off.

Aston Villa are the likely candidates for the win this weekend, but not without a fight as both teams are likely to be on the scoresheet. Aston Villa 3-1 Nottingham Forest

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Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest will not be broadcasted in the U.K. due to the broadcast laws, but the game can be followed via the radio on BBC Five Live or TalkSport.

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