Credit: Imago

Jack Dawson

Wed 6 May 2026 16:44, UK

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Aston Villa are set to take on Nottingham Forest in the Europa League semi-final second leg on Thursday.

The Tricky Trees hold a one-goal advantage at Villa Park, and considering their form going into the match, it will be a tricky match.

In comparison, Villa have been poor, and fell to a defeat to Tottenham Hotspur on the weekend.

As a result, this has led to Unai Emery insisting that Forest are the favourites to reach the final, according to the Express and Star on 6 May.

However, there is little data that supports this claim, with Aston Villa holding an excellent home record against Forest.

Aston Villa unbeaten against Nottingham Forest since 1994 at Villa Park

While Villa may have struggled at the City Ground last week, traditionally, they have had little trouble in Birmingham against Forest.

According to BBC Sport on 6 May, the Villains are unbeaten in their last 10 matches at home against the East Midlands side, winning seven and losing three.

This record dates back to October 1994 and is based on their meetings in all competitions, with their last defeat being a 2-0 loss under Ron Atkinson.

As a result, given this and their contrasting positions in the table, Villa are surely the favourites.

This simply makes Emery’s stance baffling and must purely be mind games from the manager ahead of the tie.

Is this Unai Emery’s last season at Aston Villa?

Former Manchester United scout Mick Brown has exclusively told Football Insider that he believes that Emery could depart Aston Villa this summer.

This comes amid the club’s declining form in the Premier League, which has seen them slip down to fifth in the Premier League table.

While Champions League qualification still looks highly likely, the Birmingham outfit has now only won three matches in their last 12 in the division.

This, combined with the ongoing speculation around Emery’s future, has made Brown believe that the Spaniard could now leave the club after overseeing a golden era.

However, it remains to be seen if Emery does indeed depart, especially if he is able to turn around the club’s form in the remaining matches of the current campaign and lift the Europa League trophy.