Aston Villa Form and Lineup
The unsuccessful run of three defeats since 25 April is unlikely to have seriously affected the morale of the Birmingham side. Yes, in the Premier League table Liverpool have moved ahead of Aston Villa, although the teams are level on points (both on 58), but a Champions League spot is still in the bag for the home team. On Sunday against Tottenham (1:2) Emery's staff rotated in all lines except the goalkeeper. The reserves created only 0.32 xG but also allowed little xGA (0.99). Everything was decided by the opening spell with two Spurs goals, while the second half belonged to Villa.
Key Aston Villa numbers:
Before the defeat by Tottenham, Emery's team had won four home matches in a row with a total score of 12:3.
Aston Villa have collected 35 home points in the Premier League — the best tally outside the top three.
Since April 2023 Aston Villa have beaten Nottingham in four consecutive home matches, scoring at least 2 goals in each.
Potential Aston Villa Lineup (4-2-3-1): Emiliano Martinez — Lucas Digne, Pau Torres, Ezri Konsa, Matty Cash — Youri Tielemans, Douglas Luiz — Emiliano Buendia, Morgan Rogers, John McGinn — Ollie Watkins
Unavailable: Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara, Alisson (all injured)
Nottingham Forest Form and Lineup
Pereira's team have approached the end of the season in better shape. On Monday Forest won away to Chelsea (3:1) — this victory was their fifth in a row. Even so, Nottingham were not perfect at Stamford Bridge: they had only four shots on target and created 1.28 xG from open play, allowing 21 shots towards their own goal. Forest simply benefited from the hosts’ poor finishing, with Chelsea dominating on corners (10-1). Adding to the problems were injuries to Abbott and Gibbs-White — both were substituted because of knocks, with Nottingham’s captain spending only 20 minutes on the pitch after coming on from the bench at half-time.
Key Nottingham Forest numbers:
Forest have accumulated 18.89 xG in 18 away Premier League matches — the fifth-worst figure in the league.
Since the beginning of February Nottingham have conceded in six of nine away matches in all competitions.
Forest have allowed 57.47 xGA in the Premier League. This is the third-worst figure, excluding the teams in the relegation zone.
Potential Nottingham Forest Lineup (4-4-2): Stefan Ortega — Neco Williams, Morato, Nikola Milenkovic, Ola Aina — James McAtee, Elliot Anderson, Nicolas Dominguez, Omari Hutchinson — Chris Wood, Igor Jesus
Unavailable: Willy Boly, Nicolo Savona, John, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Zac Abbott, Morgan Gibbs-White (all injured)
