Credit: Tung Manh Phan

Cameron Smith

Tue 28 April 2026 17:10, UK

Nottingham Forest will look to make a statement on Thursday when Aston Villa arrive at the City Ground.

The sides are set to meet for the third time this season as they go head-to-head in the first leg of their Europa League semi-final.

Vitor Pereira’s Forest enter the contest in impressive form, having scored nine goals across their last two matches.

Villa, by contrast, travel to Nottingham on the back of frustration after Unai Emery’s side slipped to a 1-0 defeat at Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday.

With a place in the final at stake, the stage is set for a compelling night on Trentside – and Opta’s supercomputer has already delivered its verdict.

Supercomputer makes Villa narrow first-leg favourites

Heading into Thursday, the Villans have won just one of their last eight away matches.

It is a record they will be eager to amend in the East Midlands, and Opta’s supercomputer suggests they may have every chance of doing just that.

Handed a 39 per cent chance of victory, the visitors head into the first leg as slight favourites, according to the supercomputer.

Against Fulham, skipper John McGinn created five chances – two more than any Villa player has managed away from home this season.

Yet a few weeks ago, against Forest, Emery’s side were similarly blunt, lacking creativity and inspiration in the final third.

That is something they will have to put right against the Garibaldi, who arrive in rich goalscoring form.

Aston Villa to take advantage back to Villa Park

Throughout the campaign, the B6 outfit have acquitted themselves admirably in Europe.

The results have not always been pretty, but Emery’s side have been consistently effective, collecting notable victories both at home and on their travels.

Villa’s knockout ties with Lille and Bologna underlined their resilience, with the 3-1 advantage earned in Emilia-Romagna laying the foundations for the Villans to comfortably dispatch the Rossoblu in the second leg at Villa Park.

Emery has seen it all on the European stage, collecting four Europa League titles during his time with Sevilla and Villarreal.

That pedigree means he will travel to Trentside with one objective: to secure a result strong enough to carry a precious advantage back to the west Midlands.

Should Villa prevail on Thursday, they would place one foot firmly in the final, where either Braga or Freiburg await.