Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Preview, prediction, lineups, betting tips & odds | Premier League 2025-26

The Villans emerged victorious when these sides last faced each other.

Aston Villa are all set to lock horns with Nottingham Forest in their matchweek 20 contest of the 2025-26 English Premier League. This is going to be an interesting clash, which will take place at Villa Park.

The Unai Emery-led side are coming in after facing a thrashing loss at the hands of Arsenal in their previous league fixture. It was a poor performance by them, and it ended their winning run.

Aston Villa are now in third place on the league table. They will be looking to return to winning ways.

Nottingham Forest have performed poorly in their last three matches. They are coming in after facing a defeat at the hands of Everton.

The Garibaldis are in 17th place on the Premier League points table. With their current form, they might even get demoted by the end of the season. They will be under pressure from the start of their next game.

Kick-off:

• Location: Birmingham, England 
• Stadium: Villa Park
• Date: Saturday, January 3
• Kick-off Time: 6:00 p.m. IST/ 12:30 p.m. GMT/ 07:30 a.m. ET/ 04:30 a.m. PT
• Referee: Simon Hooper
• VAR: In use

Starting 2️⃣0️⃣2️⃣6️⃣ at our place ✊ pic.twitter.com/seRfHWVshf

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) January 1, 2026

Form:

Aston Villa: W-W-W-W-L

Nottingham: W-W-L-L-L

Players to Watch

Ollie Watkins (Aston Villa)

The Englishman was once again on the scoresheet for Aston Villa, but it was not enough to secure a win. In 19 Premier League appearances this season, Ollie Watkins has scored six goals and has an assist to his name. He can be a constant threat to the opponent’s defence.

Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)

Morgan Gibbs-White will be looking to step up his game so that he can help his side stand a chance in the upcoming fixture. He can control the midfield well and is also going to play a crucial part in the final third. Gibbs-White has scored three goals and has an assist to his name in 19 league matches this season.

Match Facts

• Aston Villa have won four of their last five matches.
• Nottingham Forest are on a three-match losing streak.
• The Villans have won three of their last five games against the Tricky Trees.

Aston Villa vs Nottingham: Betting Tips and Odds

• Aston Villa to win @86/100 10bet
• Ollie Watkins to score @6/4 BetMGM
• Goals under 3.5 @2/5 Unibet

Injury and Team News

Tyrone Mings, Amadou Onana, Pau Torres, Harvey Elliott and Ross Barkley are not going to be in action for Aston Villa. They are injured.

Nottingham Forest will miss out on the services of Chris Wood, Ryan Yates and Ola Aina. They are injured. Dan Ndoye might also miss out due to fitness issues.

Head-to-Head

Total matches: 134

Aston Villa won: 63

Nottingham won: 40

Draws: 31

Predicted Lineups

Aston Villa predicted lineup (4-2-3-1)

Martínez (GK); Bogarde, Konsa, Lindelöf, Digne; McGinn, Tielemans; Sancho, Rogers, Buendía; Watkins

Nottingham predicted lineup (4-2-3-1)

Victor (GK); Williams, Milenkovic, Murillo, Zinchenko; Anderson, Domínguez; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi; Igor Jesus

Match Prediction

This is going to be an interesting fixture between these clubs. Aston Villa are likely to come out on top to secure a win against Nottingham Forest in their upcoming Premier League clash.

Prediction: Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham

Telecast Details

India: JioHotstar, Star Sports Network

UK: Sky Sports and TNT Sports

US: NBC Sports

Nigeria: SuperSport

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