NOTTM FOREST MATCH CENTRE:
Predicted XIs, Stats, Tactics & European Glory Analysis

If it wasn’t for Tottenham and West Ham picking up wins in recent weeks, you would say that Nottingham Forest were home and dry in the Premier League relegation battle. However, despite consecutive wins over Burnley, Sunderland and Chelsea – in which they scored a total of 12 goals – the Tricky Trees are six points clear with three games to go. Their impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea on Monday not only brought them to the cusp of safety, but it also provided a huge boost to the side ahead of a trip to Villa Park on Thursday night, as they bid to reach the Europa League final.

UEFA Europa League | Semi-Finals

ASTON VILLA

The Villans

NOTTM FOREST

The Tricky Trees

Venue: Villa Park

Kick-off: Thursday 7 May, 20:00 BST

TV: TNT Sports 1

Second Leg

AGGREGATE: VILLA 0-1 FOREST

Up next: Aston Villa

Forest beat Aston Villa 1-0 in the first leg at the City Ground last week. Chris Wood’s penalty was enough to mean that Vitor Pereira and his men head to the West Midlands on Thursday with a minor advantage. Forest now have five consecutive wins in all competitions, while Villa were beaten on their home turf by embattled Tottenham on Sunday night. Pereira and co will no doubt be praying that Morgan Gibbs-White is fit after he was forced off in their win over Chelsea on Monday with a nasty-looking head injury. The suggestion is that he could be involved so far, but it’s likely to depend on concussion protocols potentially coming into play if the England star has more than just a cut to his head.