Nottingham Forest host Aston Villa in the first of an all-English two-legged semi-final of the Europa League on Thursday, with the home side looking to establish home advantage against the Villains.
Vitor Pereira has done an excellent job since his arrival at the City Ground, as the Reds look relatively assured of their Premier League place next season, having navigated through Portuguese league leaders FC Porto in the previous round. Forest are on a great run of form in all competitions, having gone unbeaten in their previous eight matches and winning their last three following an excellent away victory against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. Vitor Pereira's men have also shown great resilience at home, as they are unbeaten in their last four home games, following consecutive wins against Burnley and FC Porto.
As for Aston Villa, their recent league defeat against Fulham highlights their inconsistencies away from home. Unai Emery's side have lost three of their last six away matches in all competitions and in two of those defeats, the Villains have failed to score. While their away record in Europe has seen them win their last two, Aston Villa will be travelling to a ground in England, so the intensity will be matched by their Premier League counterparts.
Morgan Gibbs-White has been excellent for Nottingham Forest in recent weeks, as the midfielder looks to put himself in contention for the World Cup this summer. The 26-year-old has scored five goals in his last three appearances for the Reds and has provided six goal contributions in nine starts in Europe this season, so we are tipping him to contribute once again for the home side.
Villa's recent away record at Premier League grounds accompanied with the improvement in form for Nottingham Forest, leads us to backing the home side here. Recent meetings has seen the BTTS market land in the last five fixtures between the two sides and thus we are backing Forest for a 2-1 home win here.
Nottingham Forest 2-1 Aston Villa
