Aston Villa
Aston Villa are 1.87 favorites to beat Nottingham Forest and advance to the 2025-26 UEFA Europa League final in Istanbul on Thursday, while the Tricky Trees are 4.52 to cause an upset and 3.86 to earn a draw in the second leg.
Nottingham Forest
However, it is Forest who come into this game on a roll, having gone four without defeat and won their last three in all competitions, including the 1-0 victory in the first leg of the semi-final.
Head-to-Head
- The result was settled by a Chris Wood penalty and it is easy to see this going to extra time at Villa Park.
- The last 12 meetings have all been close affairs, but Villa have more wins in that period across all competitions and have the home advantage here.
Key Players
- Ollie Watkins has been Villa’s talisman, scoring crucial goals in the quarter-finals.
- Forest’s in-form player is Morgan Gibbs-White, who scored a Premier League hat-trick and the winning goal against Porto in the previous round.
- Emiliano Buendía controls Villa’s attack and has provided key assists and goals in the Europa League, while Igor Jesus is Forest’s key outlet when in possession, especially on the counter-attack.
Betting Insights
- Forest will set up to defend their 1-0 advantage and hit Villa on the break, as they have done so effectively in recent games.
- Villa will probably need at least two goals to avoid extra-time, but should have enough to get the job done given their attacking intent and Emery’s mastery of the competition.
- Amadou Onana’s fitness is a doubt for Villa, who have used Lamare Bogarde to good effect in his absence the past three games - during which time Villa have lost three straight in all competitions following a pair of high-scoring wins.
- Backing BTTS - Yes at 1.85 looks a better option than the match result for this encounter because of the potential for drama in transition.
Prediction
The hosts have the quality to get the better of their opponents over the 90 minutes and with home advantage are taken to edge the tie at 2-1 or 2-0 , but don’t underestimate Forest’s ability to cause problems on the road.
