Credit: Imago

Evan Lloyd

Thu 30 April 2026 9:45, UK

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Nottingham Forest will host Aston Villa in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final at the City Ground on Thursday.

The Tricky Trees have been battling relegation this season, but have been given a chance to progress to a European final after narrowly beating FC Porto in the last round.

Villa are the competition’s favourites, however, and will be confident of going all the way after they smashed Bologna in their own quarter-final earlier this month.

The two sides have met twice already this season, with Unai Emery’s team winning the first game and the clash at the City Ground earlier this month ending level.

Here, Football Insider takes a look at the key match-ups that will decide Villa’s key clash with Nottingham Forest on Thursday.

Morgan Gibbs-White vs Morgan Rogers

Football Insider exclusively revealed this week that Morgan Gibbs-White is increasingly likely to stay at Nottingham Forest this summer.

The England international is in the form of his life, and will be key to any chance Vitor Pereira’s side have of beating Villa.

Emery has a young English midfielder of his own in Morgan Rogers, and the pair will likely end up tasked with marking each other.

Stop Gibbs-White, and you throw a huge spanner in the works of Nottingham Forest’s attack, and the same can be said of Villa and Rogers.

The battle in midfield will be the biggest decider on the night, with Thomas Tuchel undoubtedly set to be watching on.

Morato vs Ollie Watkins

Ollie Watkins has not been at his usual best this season, but he remains a dangerous striker and not a player to be taken lightly.

The 30-year-old has netted 15 goals in all competitions and was prominent in the quarter-finals, scoring three goals over both legs.

Unfortunately for Nottingham Forest, they look set to be forced to rely on their third-choice centre-back to deal with him.

Morato has made 31 appearances across all competitions this season and did play a big part against Porto, but both Murillo and Jair Cunha have been preferred to him.

With both players injured, however, Pereira will have to hope that the Brazilian stands up to the challenge of Watkins.

Elliot Anderson vs Youri Tielemans

Elliot Anderson has played like a man possessed at times for Nottingham Forest this season, and could well be set for a big-money move this summer.

He will hope to lead his team to glory before then, though, and he will face a difficult task on Thursday night.

Youri Tielemans is often at the centre of everything that goes well for Villa, and he will have to be stopped if Nottingham Forest are to put the visitors under pressure.

That task will likely fall to Anderson, who has thrived in the duel this season. Just as Gibbs-White and Rogers’ battle is key to the midfield, the contest slightly deeper will be just as crucial.