Credit: Imago

Evan Lloyd

Mon 6 April 2026 11:32, UK

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Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa will be hoping to get off to a good start in the first legs of their Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.

Vitor Pereira’s team progressed past FC Midtjylland on penalties last month, after a superb performance away in Denmark.

They will face the team currently leading Liga Portugal by five points, FC Porto. The two sides met earlier in the season at the City Ground, with Nottingham Forest undoubtedly carrying the confidence of their 2-0 win for this tie.

Villa will also face a team that they beat during the group stage, Bologna. The visit of the Italian side in September gave Unai Emery’s team their first win of the season, ending a six-game winless run.

Nottingham Forest’s form has improved of late, and both they and Villa will go into their quarter-finals with confidence.

Supercomputer backs Aston Villa, but exercises Nottingham Forest caution

Former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider last week that Villa need Champions League football next season for several reasons.

Financial reasons are the biggest of those, with the money earned from the competition set to be key to battle struggles against the profit and sustainability rules.

Emery’s team remain in a strong position to finish in the Premier League’s top four, but the Europa League has provided them with an alternative route.

The Spaniard is the most successful manager in the competition’s history, and will be well aware that the prize of Champions League football would be just as valuable as the trophy itself.

Opta‘s supercomputer has handed Villa a 74.53 per cent chance of making it to the semi-final, with Bologna representing one of the weaker teams remaining in the competition.

Nottingham Forest are in a strange situation, with their Europa League hopes coming in the background of their fight against Premier League relegation.

Pereira’s team are three points above the drop zone, and in a not massively unrealistic world, could find themselves playing both Champions League and Championship football simultaneously next season.

The supercomputer is not confident in their chances, however. Nottingham Forest have been given just a 44.36 per cent chance of making it past Porto.

How will the Europa League semi-finals look?

The Europa League is set for an all-English affair if both Premier League clubs make it through the quarter-finals.

Villa have already beaten Nottingham Forest once this season, and the pair will face off again in the league this week.

They could be set for two more meetings if each of their quarter-final ties goes to plan.

On the other side of the bracket, the supercomputer expects that Real Betis and Celta Vigo will advance, forming the other semi-final.