Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa: form, fitness, forecast

Follow live text commentary, score updates and match stats from Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League. Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa has emerged this Saturday as one of the stories drawing attention in Taiwan.

Key facts

• Follow live text commentary, score updates and match stats from Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League.
• Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest goalscorer Chris Wood speaking to TNT Sports after his side's 1-0 win over Aston Villa: "It's one leg of the tie.
• Nottingham Forest goalscorer Chris Wood speaking to TNT Sports after his side's 1-0 win over Aston Villa: "It's one leg of the tie.
• Nottm Forest beat Aston Villa in Europa League semi-final first leg.
• Chris Wood says moments like Nottingham Forest's Europa League win over Aston Villa vindicate all the hard work he did to recover from a long-term injury, though he knows the job is only half done.

What we know

Going deeper, Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest goalscorer Chris Wood speaking to TNT Sports after his side's 1-0 win over Aston Villa: "It's one leg of the tie.

On the substance, Nottingham Forest goalscorer Chris Wood speaking to TNT Sports after his side's 1-0 win over Aston Villa: "It's one leg of the tie.

Beyond the headlines, Nottm Forest beat Aston Villa in Europa League semi-final first leg.

More precisely, Chris Wood says moments like Nottingham Forest's Europa League win over Aston Villa vindicate all the hard work he did to recover from a long-term injury, though he knows the job is only half done.

It is worth noting that Nottingham Forest are the first team to have seven penalties awarded in a Europa League campaign since the tournament was rebranded in 2009.They have scored five of them.

By the numbers

At this stage, Wood's 71st-minute penalty was all that separated Forest and Villa in the first leg of their semi-final tie, giving Vitor Pereira's men a lead to protect at Villa Park next week.

On a related note, 1-0 deficit isn't ideal but 90 minutes is a long time to hold out at Villa Park.

Going deeper, Unai Emery lost a leg of a Europa League semi-final for the first time since his Sevilla side lost 3-1 at Valencia in May 2014, having gone unbeaten in eight straight semi-final matches in the competition before today (W6 D2).

On the substance, Wood has now scored in successive games for Forest for the first time since January 2025, having also netted in last week's 5-0 Premier League victory at Sunderland.

The wider context

On a related note, Chris Wood recently missed six months with a knee injury, but he is glad to be back and spearheading Nottingham Forest's Europa League push.

Going deeper, But given Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has progressed from each of his last five Europa League semi-final ties (three with Sevilla, one with Arsenal, one with Villarreal), Wood knows Forest have work to do in the second leg.

On the substance, Aston Villa Aston Villa manager Unai Emery on Elliot Anderson avoiding a red card for a challenge on Ollie Watkins: "Fantastic the referee, fantastic.

Beyond the headlines, Aston Villa manager Unai Emery on Elliot Anderson avoiding a red card for a challenge on Ollie Watkins: "Fantastic the referee, fantastic.

More precisely, Aston Villa Aston Villa manager Unai Emery speaking to TNT Sports: "We couldn't score, we conceded, but we controlled.

The bottom line

• Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White speaking to TNT Sports about how Vitor Pereira has helped him: "He's given me the belief and the confidence that I needed to step up.
• I've enjoyed playing out there and we'll see how it goes."On wanting Villa to win on Sunday - against Forest's relegation rivals Tottenham: "That's the situation we're in right now.
• Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White speaking to TNT Sports about how Vitor Pereira has helped him: "He's given me the belief and the confidence that I needed to step up.