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Horse Racing Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Prediction: Team News and Lineups Preview
Villa Park plays host to a big Premier League clash and we have you covered for Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest prediction, team news, lineups and fixtures preview.
James Cantrill has cast an eye over the clash in Birmingham picking out three bets from the asian handicap market, a goalscorer and a player to be booked.
Victory could move the hosts to within two points of third placed Arsenal while an away win would put real daylight between Forest and the drop zone.
Our Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest prediction is for Nottingham Forest to win the match 3-1.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Prediction, Team News, Fixtures and Lineups Preview
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 1: Nottingham Forest Asian Handicap (+1)
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 2: Taiwo Awoniyi Anytime Goalscorer
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 3: Morgan Gibbs-White Card
In this article:
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Team News and Possible Lineups
- The Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest, Premier League Standings Prediction
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Match Stats
- Aston Villa Fixtures
- Nottingham Forest Fixtures
- Safer Gambling
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Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 1: Tricky Trees
England, Premier League, Saturday, February 24th, 15:00 (UK)
Nuno Espirito Santo inherited Nottingham Forest in a precarious position.
Forest were five points clear of the drop but averaging less than a point per game, and history will tell you this is relegation-worthy form.
Under Steve Cooper, Forest had only won three games all season and had only taken 1 point from a possible 21 when Nuno arrived at the City Ground.
The Portuguese boss made an immediate impact.
An injury-time winner from Dominic Solanke cost Forest a point in Nuno’s first game against Bournemouth. His side have gone on to take 10 points from the 21 on offer since. Highlights include a win at St James’ Park and a home victory over Manchester United.
The standout feature of Nuno’s time at the club so far is the subtle tactical tweets he makes on a game-by-game basis. Using Anthony Elanga’s pace to exploit the lack of pace on Newcastle’s left and overloading the central areas against Man Utd are a couple of examples of this.
It is why, at even money, taking Forest on the Asian Handicap (+1) appeals at Villa Park.
After beating Manchester City, Arsenal and Brentford in the space of 11 days, Aston Villa’s form has faltered. Across the eight games since, Villa have lost as many games (3) as they have won.
Although Unai Emery’s side beat Fulham in their last outing, this clash with Forest is another stern test.
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 1: Nottingham Forest Asian Handicap (+1) (TRACKED BET)
- Best Odds: 2.00
- Bookmaker: William Hill
- Stake: 5/10
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 2: Hot streak
Taiwo Awoniyi has returned to fitness for Nottingham Forest and is back amongst the goals.
The Nigerian made a cameo appearance against Arsenal at the end of January and netted a consolation. He has started the three league games since, racking up six shots and scoring in Forest’s last outing against West Ham.
It means Awoniyi has scored six goals in under 1,000 minutes of Premier League action this term, that is a goal per 90 average of 0.58. Across two top-flight seasons and 41 appearances, he has 16 goals and a goals-per-90 average of 0.61.
The frontman will fancy his chances of adding to that tally at Villa Park. The hosts have conceded in nine of their 12 games on home soil.
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 2: Taiwo Awoniyi Anytime Goalscorer (TRACKED BET)
- Best Odds: 3.30
- Bookmaker: Betfair, Paddy Power
- Stake: 2/10
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 3: Morgan Gibbs-Yellow
Morgan Gibbs-White has picked up six cards this term, three in his first 17 appearances and the other half since Nuno took charge.
The midfielder was carded in the home win over Man Utd and in each of Forest’s last two games against Newcastle and West Ham.
Since moving the play consistently in the number 10 slot, the England youth international’s defensive output has increased drastically. In eight appearances, he has completed 11 tackles and committed ten fouls.
At the prices available, backing him to be shown a card in Birmingham appeals.
Samuel Barrot has the whistle; not one of the most prolific Premier League referees in terms of cards, but he has dished out nine bookings in his last two top-flight appearances.
The opposition’s central midfielders have been booked in 14 of VIlla’s 25 games this term, though, with Sander Berge and Mario Lemina both sent off against the Villans.
- Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tip 3: Morgan Gibbs-White Card(TRACKED BET)
- Best Odds: 3.60
- Bookmaker: William Hill
- Stake: 1/10
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Prediction odds via William Hill, bet365 as at 13:00, February 21st, 2024. Odds may now differ.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Team News and Possible Lineups: Villa injury crisis
The hosts lost Boubacar Kamara and Diego Carlos in the space of a week, and the pair are out for the foreseeable future. Amidst an injury crisis, Emery recently ruled out Tyrone Mings and Emi Buendia for the remainder of the season.
Emery opted for a 4-4-2 in the win at Craven Cottage with Youri Tielemans playing off Ollie Watkins and John McGinn in central midfield and could do something similar this weekend.
Chris Wood and Gonzalo Montiel both missed the victory over West Ham with a hamstring issue and are not expected back for this weekend. Having gotten through that game relatively unscathed, Nuno could name an unchanged XI here.
Aston Villa possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Cash, Lenglet, Torres, Moreno; Bailey, McGinn, Luiz, Ramsey; Tielemans, Watkins
Nottingham Forest possible starting lineup:
Sels; Williams, Felipe, Murillo, Tavares; Dominguez, Danilo; Elanga, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odio; Awoniyi
The Predicted Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Premier League Standings by BETSiE
Our in-house predictive model, BETSiE, has had a go at predicting the Premier League standings ahead of the Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest, currently 4th vs 16th, fixture by utilising the underlying data from the 2023/24 season up until this point.
For more league-specific BETSiE content including standings, probabilities and predictions, visit her page here – it’s worth it.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Standings Prediction
| POSITION | CLUB | GAMES | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | POINTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 38 | 25.4 | 6.7 | 5.9 | 82.9 | 33.2 | 49.7 | 82.9 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 38 | 24.6 | 8.6 | 4.7 | 86.8 | 39.0 | 47.8 | 82.5 |
| 3 | Manchester City | 38 | 24.7 | 7.2 | 6.2 | 85.7 | 41.0 | 44.7 | 81.1 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 38 | 20.2 | 7.1 | 10.6 | 73.9 | 52.1 | 21.8 | 67.8 |
| 5 | Tottenham | 38 | 19.8 | 7.8 | 10.4 | 76.5 | 60.6 | 15.8 | 67.2 |
| 6 | Newcastle | 38 | 17.1 | 5.7 | 15.1 | 79.5 | 64.9 | 14.6 | 57.2 |
| 7 | Manchester Utd | 38 | 17.3 | 5.1 | 15.6 | 51.8 | 57.5 | -5.7 | 57.0 |
| 8 | Chelsea | 38 | 16.0 | 6.9 | 15.1 | 66.8 | 63.4 | 3.4 | 55.0 |
| 9 | Brighton | 38 | 14.2 | 11.3 | 12.6 | 63.5 | 61.7 | 1.9 | 53.8 |
| 10 | West Ham | 38 | 14.1 | 9.0 | 14.9 | 55.2 | 68.5 | -13.3 | 51.3 |
| 11 | Wolverhampton | 38 | 13.8 | 8.1 | 16.1 | 56.7 | 62.2 | -5.5 | 49.5 |
| 12 | Bournemouth | 38 | 13.3 | 9.3 | 15.4 | 55.5 | 66.6 | -11.1 | 49.1 |
| 13 | Fulham | 38 | 12.8 | 8.4 | 16.9 | 52.4 | 61.0 | -8.6 | 46.6 |
| 14 | Brentford | 38 | 12.9 | 7.3 | 17.8 | 58.4 | 63.2 | -4.8 | 46.0 |
| 15 | Everton | 38 | 14.5 | 8.2 | 15.3 | 49.0 | 50.0 | -0.9 | 41.7 |
| 16 | Crystal Palace | 38 | 9.9 | 9.4 | 18.7 | 42.7 | 65.2 | -22.5 | 39.1 |
| 17 | Nottingham Forest | 38 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 18.7 | 46.4 | 62.7 | -16.3 | 38.6 |
| 18 | Luton | 38 | 8.6 | 8.0 | 21.4 | 51.4 | 76.4 | -25.0 | 33.7 |
| 19 | Burnley | 38 | 6.5 | 7.4 | 24.1 | 39.7 | 73.1 | -33.4 | 26.8 |
| 20 | Sheffield Utd | 38 | 5.7 | 6.9 | 25.4 | 35.9 | 88.5 | -52.5 | 23.9 |
Match Stats: Villa Park not so impenetrable
- Following a 17-game unbeaten home run in the Premier League – 16 of which were victories – Aston Villa have now lost their last two at Villa Park. They last lost three in a row in November 2020 under Dean Smith.
- Nottingham Forest have lost 21 of their 23 Premier League away games against sides starting the day in the top four of the table, including each of the last 15 in a row. The only exceptions were a 2-1 victory at Manchester United in December 1994, and a 1-1 draw at Aston Villa in September 1995.
- Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has won just one of his six meetings with Nottingham Forest’s Nuno Espírito Santo (D3 L2), with his Sevilla side beating Valencia 1-0 in November 2015. He’s winless in all three Premier League meetings with the Portuguese (D2 L1).
- 14 of Taiwo Awoniyi’s 16 Premier League goals have been Nottingham Forest’s first goal of the match, with 11 of those being the first goal in the game overall. His other two goals were in games in which he scored a brace.
Aston Villa Fixtures: Rocky road
- Vs Luton (A)
- Vs Tottenham (H)
- Vs West Ham (A)
- Vs Wolves (H)
- Vs Man City (A)
Nottingham Forest Fixtures: Tough schedule
- Vs Man Utd (H)
- Vs Liverpool (H)
- Vs Brighton (A)
- Vs Luton (A)
- Vs Crystal Palace (H)
SAFER GAMBLING
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