🔗 Share this article Aston Villa versus Nottingham Forest: Top-Flight Preview Introduction Welcome everyone to this Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa are the favourites to win in this early kick-off as they are excelling this season and are currently sitting third, while Nottingham Forest are seventeenth and just four points outside of the relegation zone. The two teams are coming into the game following a setback as Villa were beaten 4-1 by league-leading Arsenal and Forest fell 2-0 to Everton. It will be a difficult task for the visitors to come away with all three points with Villa having one of the best home records in Europe at the moment and they also set a club record of 36 wins across all competitions this season. But perhaps it’s a new year and a new narrative? We will find out very soon. The team news will be announced shortly before kick-off at 12.30pm GMT. Confirmed Lineups The team news is in. Unai Emery has made four changes to his starting lineup who were defeated by 4-1 to Arsenal last time around. Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Maatsen, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn, Buendia, Rogers, Watkins. Substitutes: Bizot, Digne, Sancho, Garcia, Carroll, Bogarde, Hemmings, Malen, Jimoh-Aloba. Forest have likewise made four changes to their starting squad after a 2-0 defeat to Everton. Nott’m Forest: Victor, Williams, Murillo, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Dominguez, I Jesus, Hutchinson, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Aina. Substitutes: Sels, Morato, Awoniyi, Luiz, Kalimuendo, McAtee, Zinchenko, Savona, Abbott. Manager Comments Forest boss Sean Dyche has remarked on his opponent today: "He has done a excellent job as a manager there. Their transfer business has been strong - invested a lot of money, to be fair, on some top players and they’ve shaped it into a cohesive team, so certainly a difficult game. We’ve just demonstrated lately, we’ve faced some of the top sides, or the ones that are favoured every year, and performed admirably against them - and a couple of teams perhaps not as highly-rated, we struggled more against them. That’s probably the test of the group - rising to the expectation of each game rather than just the big games." Transfer Update The midfielder has will not be staying at Aston Villa, news that was revealed by the manager Emery in the build-up to this match. The boss stated: "We respect him as much as possible because he’s a very good professional, very dedicated. The issue we have with Harvey is this year he is a loan player and if he is featuring regularly, we are obligated to buy him. We decided two months ago we are not persuaded to make the move permanent, spending the money we need." Form Guide What a difference a year makes. This time last year Nottingham Forest were in third place in the table, where Villa are now. A lot of things have changed, including the manager twice and Sean Dyche is charged with keeping the club in the Premier League this season. Since being appointed on 21 October, Dyche has accumulated 10 Premier League points and the side are just outside the relegation zone with 19 games of the season remaining.
Introduction Welcome everyone to this Premier League clash between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest. Aston Villa are the favourites to win in this early kick-off as they are excelling this season and are currently sitting third, while Nottingham Forest are seventeenth and just four points outside of the relegation zone. The two teams are coming into the game following a setback as Villa were beaten 4-1 by league-leading Arsenal and Forest fell 2-0 to Everton. It will be a difficult task for the visitors to come away with all three points with Villa having one of the best home records in Europe at the moment and they also set a club record of 36 wins across all competitions this season. But perhaps it’s a new year and a new narrative? We will find out very soon. The team news will be announced shortly before kick-off at 12.30pm GMT.
Confirmed Lineups The team news is in. Unai Emery has made four changes to his starting lineup who were defeated by 4-1 to Arsenal last time around. Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Maatsen, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn, Buendia, Rogers, Watkins. Substitutes: Bizot, Digne, Sancho, Garcia, Carroll, Bogarde, Hemmings, Malen, Jimoh-Aloba. Forest have likewise made four changes to their starting squad after a 2-0 defeat to Everton. Nott’m Forest: Victor, Williams, Murillo, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Dominguez, I Jesus, Hutchinson, Bakwa, Milenkovic, Aina. Substitutes: Sels, Morato, Awoniyi, Luiz, Kalimuendo, McAtee, Zinchenko, Savona, Abbott.
Manager Comments Forest boss Sean Dyche has remarked on his opponent today: "He has done a excellent job as a manager there. Their transfer business has been strong - invested a lot of money, to be fair, on some top players and they’ve shaped it into a cohesive team, so certainly a difficult game. We’ve just demonstrated lately, we’ve faced some of the top sides, or the ones that are favoured every year, and performed admirably against them - and a couple of teams perhaps not as highly-rated, we struggled more against them. That’s probably the test of the group - rising to the expectation of each game rather than just the big games."
Transfer Update The midfielder has will not be staying at Aston Villa, news that was revealed by the manager Emery in the build-up to this match. The boss stated: "We respect him as much as possible because he’s a very good professional, very dedicated. The issue we have with Harvey is this year he is a loan player and if he is featuring regularly, we are obligated to buy him. We decided two months ago we are not persuaded to make the move permanent, spending the money we need."
Form Guide What a difference a year makes. This time last year Nottingham Forest were in third place in the table, where Villa are now. A lot of things have changed, including the manager twice and Sean Dyche is charged with keeping the club in the Premier League this season. Since being appointed on 21 October, Dyche has accumulated 10 Premier League points and the side are just outside the relegation zone with 19 games of the season remaining.