Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest predictions: Reinvigorated Villans can see off visitors
Jamie Griffith
Aston Villa start the weekend in 17th and have just one point to their name
Nottingham Forest are only one point and one place better off
Recommended bet: Aston Villa to win, Nicolas Jackson to score or be carded, Morgan Gibbs-White to have a shot on target @ 4.8/1 with LiveScore Bet
Two teams who are very familiar with one another do battle at Villa Park in the Premier League on Saturday, as Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest for the pair’s fifth head-to-head of 2026.
Villa have had the better of Forest this year, most notably enjoying a 4-0 home victory in the Europa League semi-finals, and they will be confident of keeping up that strong record after finally breaking their duck for the season with a Champions League victory over Club Brugge.
Team news
Summer signing Leon Goretzka has joined Amadou Onana in the Villa infirmary and Joao Gomes serves the final game of his three-match domestic ban. There is a hope Johan Manzambi and Brian Madjo could return but Matty Cash is a doubt to face his former side.
Ibrahim Sangare missed Forest’s draw with Spurs but could return, meaning Nicolo Savona is the Reds’ only confirmed absentee.
The latest Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest odds are available on LiveScore Bet
The stats
Aston Villa have won six of their last eight home matches.
Nottingham Forest are on an eight-game winless streak.
The Villans have won five straight head-to-heads at Villa Park.
Both teams to score has landed in just one of this pair’s six combined Premier League games this season.
Forest have conceded nine goals in their last three away matches, four of those coming at Villa.
The visitors have scored just two goals in four games this term while the Villans have managed only one more.
The latest Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest odds are available on LiveScore Bet
Prediction
Both Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest are on the hunt for a first Premier League win of the season but it is the hosts who seem likelier to gain that this weekend, having boosted morale with a 3-2 European success at Club Brugge.
Given Villa started last season slowly then won four straight games after a European victory, Forest should be worried ahead of their trip to Birmingham, where Unai Emery’s team look set to make it six consecutive head-to-head victories on their own patch.
There are unpredictable players and then there is Nicolas Jackson. The Senegalese forward has the capability to win a game on his own when at his best or let his side down with poor discipline and woeful finishing when at his worst.
That makes the to-score-or-be-carded market the perfect way to back the Villa forward. Jackson was on target in Brugge and one goal and two cards in three appearances against Forest suggests he will play a big part - whether positive or negative is a coin-flip - on Saturday.
At the other end, Morgan Gibbs-White continues to be the Reds’ biggest threat. No Forest player has managed more Premier League shots on target since Oliver Glasner’s arrival than his two and having tested the Villa goalkeeper three times in two domestic head-to-heads last term, it could pay to back him to steer an effort goalbound at Villa Park.
Correct score: Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
