Europa League

2026-04-30 - Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa

A Sports Betting Pick by Auls

Nottingham Forest v Aston Villa
Football: UEFA Europa League Semi Final First Leg
Thursday 30th April 2026 - Kick Off 8pm
This game is live on TV

Nottingham Forest

A big win at the Stadium of Light has kept Nottingham Forest in a decent position in the Premier League table, but they will have been disappointed to see both West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur produce late winners on the following day. Those victories have just prevented Nottingham Forest from being able to put all of their eggs in the Europa League basket, although Vitor Pereira knows the importance of the competition to the owner of the club.

There is still a healthy gap between Nottingham Forest and the bottom three in the Premier League and the manager has picked strong teams in the Europa League. Facing a team from the same country can be a test, but there is the bonus of not having to deal with significant travel. The Tricky Trees beat Porto in the Quarter Final Second Leg at the City Ground to earn passage into the Semi Final, but Nottingham Forest had lost the previous 2 home games played in this competition.

Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in 8 games in all competitions, but it is the 3 wins in a row that will have really given the squad a boost in confidence and some momentum to take into the final weeks of the season. Since losing to Midtjylland for the second time at the City Ground this season, Nottingham Forest are unbeaten in 4 here in all competitions and have beaten Porto and Burnley in consecutive fixtures.

Murillo and Callum Hudson-Odoi are key absentees for the home team.

Aston Villa

The capitulation of Chelsea has given Aston Villa some breathing room in the bid to finish in the top five of the Premier League and secure a return to the Champions League, but that does not mean Unai Emery will be happy with the defeat at Fulham on Saturday. They had chances in that fixture and Aston Villa are still in a decent position in the standings, but they will not want to offer too much encouragement to the in-form Brighton to steal the top five spot from them.

There is the second route into the Champions League via a success in the Europa League, but Unai Emery would be keen to wrap up the Premier League position before any appearance in the Final. The manager is also very experienced and will recognise the challenge that Nottingham Forest will represent, even if Aston Villa have won their last 4 away Europa League games played.

Aston Villa's 4 game unbeaten run was ended in the narrow defeat in West London on Saturday lunchtime. The away record in the Europa League has been impressive, but Aston Villa have not won any of their last 5 on their travels against English opposition and have lost 3 of those matches.

Amadou Onana missed the game on Saturday and the hope is that he can return sooner rather than later. Some changes may be made to freshen up the starting eleven with the likes of Ross Barkley and Ian Maatsen capable of coming up and making a difference.

Head to Head

Aston Villa have picked up 4 points in two Premier League meetings against Nottingham Forest this season.

They met earlier this month at the City Ground and that ended in a 1-1 draw.

Nottingham Forest have extended their unbeaten run to 4 games at home against this Midlands rival.

Prediction

The Europa League Final involved two English clubs last season and it is not the biggest of surprises that the representatives have reached the business end of the competition again.

However, this time Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa will meet in the Europa League Semi Final and there should be a couple of vibrant atmospheres for the two Legs to be played.

First up is Nottingham Forest hosting at the City Ground and Vitor Pereira's team have put together a strong run of form. Nine goals have been scored in beating Burnley and Sunderland, but Nottingham Forest have been ruthless with the chances that have been created and that makes them dangerous.

Chris Wood is back to lead the line and this is another big boost, but Aston Villa have Unai Emery's experience to rely upon and that can be the difference across the two ties.

Aston Villa's defeat at Craven Cottage is a blow and this has continued a run of poor away results when facing English opponents.

The door has been left slightly ajar for a late contender for the top five places with that loss, but Aston Villa have to still believe they have enough to earn that Champions League spot and can take this Europa League Semi Final very seriously.

When these teams met here earlier in the month, there was little between them and this First Leg is likely going to be very competitive. Neither team will want to give anything away in the First Leg and it could result in another battle with risks unlikely to be taken.

An early goal can change the approach within the game, but both teams battled hard when they met at the City Ground recently and this could be another resulting in a low-scoring fixture.