Aston Villa head across the Midlands this Sunday as Emery’s men take on Steve Cooper’s Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Here’s the latest heading into this game-week 11 fixture at the City Ground…
Words by: Liam Davies
THE BUILD UP
Aston Villa look to extend their winning run in the Premier League to three games as they prepare for an all-Midlands clash with Nottingham Forest tomorrow afternoon. Following the draw away at Molineux at the beginning of October, Emery’s side defeated West Ham United by four goals to one, before seeing off AZ Alkmaar at the AFAS Stadion in the UEFA Europa Conference League; a result that pushed Villa into the top two of Group E.
Last weekend, the Villans extended their winning run at Villa Park to twelve with a victory over Rob Edwards’ Premier League newcomers Luton Town. Captain John McGinn put the home side ahead after 17 minutes, after an expertly-crafted set-piece saw Douglas Luiz feed the Scotsman on the edge of the box. The number seven would then round the onrushing Hatters defenders, before smashing it past Thomas Kaminski for his fourth of the season.
Moussa Diaby would score his first goal at Villa Park shortly after half-time, following a superb move down the Villa left which saw McGinn and Lucas Digne combine, before substitute Leon Bailey’s knock-down gifted Diaby with a clear sight of goal and the Frenchmen would make no mistake from 12 yards.
The number 19 found himself through on goal moments later and Villa’s third of the game would follow as Town captain Tom Lockyer failed to clear Diaby’s effort and bundled the ball into his own net. A mix-up at the other end saw Ezri Konsa convert past his own ‘keeper in the 83rd minute to make it 3-1, but it was a comfortable day for the claret and blue side in the end.
The 2023 Ballon d’Or awards were hosted in Paris on Monday and one Villan was recognised for his efforts: Emiliano Martínez. The shot-stopper finished in a mightily-impressive 15th place in the official rankings and was awarded the prestigious Yashin Trophy for his efforts both at Aston Villa and with the Argentine national team, namely La Albiceleste’s World Cup success.
Elsewhere, in-form Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz won the club’s player of the month award and has been nominated for the Premier League accolade too. Unai Emery also earned a mention and is up for manager of the month following Villa’s unbeaten run throughout October.
Attention is wholeheartedly on tomorrow’s game on Trentside however, with Emery’s men facing a tough challenge away against Nottingham Forest. The Reds have lost just two of the last 19 games at the City Ground in the league, a record bettered only by Manchester City and Liverpool on home soil in that time.
Last time out, Steve Cooper’s side were defeated 3-0 away at Anfield with Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool sailing to a comfortable victory on Merseyside. Portuguese winger Diogo Jota opened the scoring after half an hour before Darwin Núñez struck minutes later to double the host’s lead. Egyptian talisman Mohammed Salah would grab Liverpool’s third and final goal in the 77th minute. This result keep Klopp’s team inside the top four of the Premier League, while Forest sit 16th – just five points adrift of the relegation zone.
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The fixture at the City Ground last season finished 1-1, with Emmanuel Dennis and Ashley Young on the score-sheet for their respective sides. Aston Villa are one of the form teams in the country and look a real force at the moment, while Forest are struggling and win-less in six.
Can Unai Emery’s high-flying Villans put another three points on the board in their search of a UEFA Champions League finish or will Cooper’s Forest maintain their fortress status at home and shun their West-Midlands visitors?
TEAM NEWS
ASTON VILLA
Full-back Àlex Moreno has this week returned to first-team training. The Spaniard hasn’t featured in claret and blue since suffering a hamstring injury in the 1-1 draw at Anfield against Liverpool last season, meaning the number 15 has missed around five months worth of action as a result.
The 30-year-old left-back will be struggling for match fitness, but Unai Emery confirmed that the defender is nearing availability.
On the former Real Betis man, Emery said: “[Álex Moreno] is getting progressively better, he’s training with the team, not completely but he is very close to being available to play.”
Colombian forward Jhon Durán is considered a doubt after missing the previous Premier League fixture with a toe infection.
Elsewhere, Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendía remain out with long-term knee injuries, while midfielder Jacob Ramsey is expected to make a return after the international break later this month, Unai Emery has confirmed.
NOTTINGHAM FOREST
Steve Cooper will be without summer signing Callum Hudson-Odoi tomorrow afternoon, with the winger side-lined with a hamstring injury. The 22-year-old made the switch from Chelsea in the recent transfer window and has featured four times in Forest red, scoring once, but is set to miss out until the start of December.
Also unavailable for the Trees are strikers Divock Origi and Chris Wood. Origi was another name to have made the switch to the City Ground over the summer but has yet to start for his new club and is currently struggling with a hip injury, while Wood, who bagged a brace against Luton a fortnight ago, misses out with a hamstring problem.
Elsewhere, centre-half Felipe misses out with a knee injury, World Cup winning full-back Gonzalo Montiel is out with a lower leg issue and Brazilian midfielder Danilo is absent with a hamstring injury.
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A BIT ON FOREST…
This 2023/24 Premier League campaign marks Nottingham Forest’s second season back in the top flight, having been promoted via the play-offs in 2022. Despite qualms over last season’s transfer business which saw the Reds spend approximately £170 million – according to Transfermarkt – on as many as 30 new players, Steve Cooper was able to steer his side clear of relegation, finishing 16th – four points ahead of rivals Leicester City.
It hasn’t quite gone to plan this season on Trentside, however. Forest would have hoped to build from last season’s survival and push towards mid-table, but the Trees have picked up just ten points from their opening ten games and are in poor form, failing to big up three points since the 1-0 victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge at the start of September.
Cooper has faced several spells of pressure during his time as Forest’s head coach and both fans and the board are beginning to grow impatient again after the recent run of results. The next three games could be crucial for Cooper, with tomorrow’s hosting of Aston Villa followed up by a trip to the London Stadium and a visit from Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton over the next few weeks.
Forest did begin the campaign strongly, picking up a victory over Sheffield United after narrowly losing against Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal on the opening weekend. An unfortunate defeat away at Old Trafford that saw Manchester United come from 2-0 down to beat Cooper’s side was followed by a terrific triumph in West-London where the Garibaldi dispatched of Mauricio Pochettino’s Chelsea by a goal to nil thanks to Anthony Elanga’s 48th minute strike.
Although, draws against newly-promoted Burnley and Luton in recent weeks have highlighted clear flaws in the side, with the latter result particularly disappointing after leading the Hatters by two goals to nil up until the 83rd minute. A defeat at home to Burnley in the Carabao Cup back in August adds to the Forest frustration and the East-Midlands side are lucky to be outside of the drop zone a quarter of the way through the season.
The form of striker Taiwo Awoniyi has been one of just a few positives this term. The 26-year-old Nigerian forward is the club’s top goal scorer (3) and recently returned from injury to boost Forest’s attacking options this weekend, particularly in the absence of Chris Wood. Awoniyi continued his goal-scoring form from the back end of last season, when he scored six goals in the final four games, with strikes against Arsenal, Sheffield United and Manchester United to begin the 2023/24 season.
Despite a recent drought in-front of goal and a minor injury disturbance, Steve Cooper will look to his number nine for an impact up-front tomorrow afternoon.
The Welsh head coach will also be looking for a good display from £8.5 million Argentine midfielder Nicolás Domínguez who arrived at the City Ground from Serie A outfit Bologna over the summer.
Speaking on tomorrow’s claret and blue opposition, Domínguez said: “We know it’s going to be a tough encounter for us as we know they are in a rich vein of form.
“They are a team who like to play good football, but it’s something we know we have to face up to and take on head-to-head.
“We need to impose our game and take our game to them, and by doing that hopefully we can get the right result at home which we are after.”
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MY PREDICTED LINE-UP
Let’s take a look at my predicted line-up for this upcoming fixture at the City Ground…
Do you agree? Who makes your side? Share now and let’s discuss?
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