Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest in Matchweek 4 of the Premier League, with both sides still searching for their first league win of the season. Villa are also looking for their first Premier League goal, setting up an intriguing tactical battle at Villa Park. Here is our Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest prediction, including tactical analysis, team news, injuries, and predicted lineups.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Match Details
- Competition: English Premier League
- Round: 4
- Date: Saturday September 12, 2026
- Location: Villa Park (Birmingham, UK)
- Kickoff Time: 3:00pm (Local Time / BST)
Aston Villa Team News
Villa are yet to score a single goal in the Premier League this season. However, they did find three goals, along with three points, in the UEFA Champions League this past Tuesday when they visited Belgian side Club Brugge.
Villa fans are still waiting to lay their eyes on summer signing Leon Goretzka, and that wait will have to continue as the former Bayern man will likely miss out on Saturday’s match, prolonging the wait for his Villa debut.
João Gomes will also miss the match on Saturday as he continues to serve his red-card suspension.
Nottingham Forest Team News
Forest are still searching for their first Premier League victory of the season and their first league win under Oliver Glasner. Despite their inability to win as of yet this season, Forest did manage to leave Anfield with a point from a 2-2 draw two weeks back, as well as a 0-0 bore draw at home last weekend against Spurs.
Liam Delap made his first start for Forest last weekend since joining from Chelsea and will be hoping to maintain his spot in the starting XI come Saturday.
Ibrahim Sangaré is currently listed as questionable to be available for the Villa match, and Forest fans will be hopeful for his return from injury.
Aston Villa Injuries
Unavailable: Amadou Onana (knee), Leon Goretzka (knee), João Gomes (suspended), Brian Madjo (foot)
Questionable: Johan Manzambi
Nottingham Forest Injuries
Unavailable: Nicola Savona (knee)
Questionable: Ibrahim Sangaré
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Match Win Probability
- Aston Villa: 54%
- Draw: 24%
- Nottingham Forest: 23%
To view the win probabilities for every Premier League match, click here!
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Predicted Lineups
Aston Villa Lineup Notes
With João Gomes still serving his suspension, Ross Barkley will likely take up his post back in the Villa starting XI when they face Forest. Matty Cash missed Villa’s match in midweek and was able to take time to rest following some reported muscle tightness.
Tyrone Mings and Pau Torres have split minutes this season so far. Torres performed very well against Club Brugge in midweek; however, due to his minutes on Tuesday, Mings could re-enter the Villa lineup.
Nottingham Forest Lineup Notes
Liam Delap started Forest’s match against Spurs last weekend, and I expect Glasner to select the record-fee signing again here.
Sangaré looks to be aiming for a potential return this weekend, and his minutes will depend on his availability, with Schlager having successfully stepped into the lineup in his place.
Lineup images created via FotMob
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Tactical Preview
How Aston Villa Will Set Up
In Possession
Aston Villa will line up in their 4-2-3-1 formation.
Going forward, Villa look to move players positionally in order to achieve their 3-2-5 attacking shape. Hemmings inverts into a more central area, allowing Ian Maatsen the ability to join the attack in the outside line while simultaneously creating a boxed midfield in the centre of the park.
Matty Cash also has the option to join the attack when the circumstances permit, while John McGinn occupies a winger role, staying wider than Hemmings on the opposite side.
Jackson has made good work in his time at Villa as a target option, dropping into pockets of space in front of the opposition’s back line to receive line-breaking passes.
Nicholas Jackson and George Hemmings have combined well in rotations, with Hemmings making runs into the wider channel and dragging his marker with him while also opening up space for Jackson to drop into.
With Nottingham Forest being a side that looks to capitalize on the counter-attack, Emery’s Villa will need to ensure that they have three defenders remaining in the rest-defense back line should they give up possession, so as not to be caught on the break.
Out of Possession
On the defensive side of the ball, Aston Villa predominantly use a 4-4-2 shape.
Aston Villa’s 4-4-2 shape is very narrow, clogging central passing lanes but exposing the wide lanes to opposition attacks — an area of the pitch that Nottingham Forest look to exploit.
With Forest playing with wide wingbacks who look to join the attack, it can be expected that someone from Villa’s shape will have to drop. Due to Forest’s right wingback, Aina, being a real threat from attacking positions and always looking to get up the pitch in the wide areas, I expect Unai Emery to instruct George Hemmings to drop into the back line when needed.
How Nottingham Forest Will Set Up
In Possession
Nottingham Forest will line up in their 3-4-3 shape.
Morgan Gibbs-White operates in a right-sided 10 or second-striker role, while his counterpart, Dan Ndoye, acts as a true winger, looking to play in the outside areas of the pitch more often.
Right wingback Aina pushes high in attack down the right wing, providing width across the pitch in possession.
Murillo often looks to play balls long over the top to his winger or looks to make line-breaking passes into his target striker, advancing the ball and attack up the pitch from deep areas.
As Forest get high up the pitch, their wingbacks remain wide, stretching the pitch. Forest will look for opportunities to capitalize on the space left by Villa in the outside lanes.
Out of Possession
Out of possession, Nottingham Forest defend in a 5-2-3 shape, with their front and midfield lines creating a “W” shape.
Forest utilize their central midfielders to aid in containing their opposition and also in forcing their opponents into mistakes. McAtee and Sangaré/Schlager will jump from their holding midfield position to step to opposition pivots and/or defenders who have possession, closing them down and looking to turn the ball over.
While their central midfielders utilize their shadows to ensure passing lanes behind them are closed, space still remains to be open between Forest’s lines when their midfielders jump. Passing lanes directly to attacking players also become open when a Forest midfielder steps and the angle of the pass is subsequently changed when the ball is rotated.
This exact movement from McAtee, jumping his line to apply pressure on the ball, is what allowed Liverpool to score their first goal in their meeting two weeks ago.
McAtee jumps his line to pressure the CB in possession; the passing angle is changed when Wirtz receives possession, opening up the passing lane through to Gakpo, allowing Liverpool to break Forest’s lines.
Forest’s 5-2-3 shape does give them numbers already positioned highly for the chance of counter-attacking their opponents.
George Hemmings’ position for Aston Villa and their boxed midfield could draw out the Forest midfielders and allow for passing lanes through to their attacking players and Nicholas Jackson dropping into the open space.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Prediction
This is a tactical battle of a match. Unai Emery’s Villa side will look to maintain the majority of possession while utilizing their rotations and movement to free up space and attacking opportunities.
On the opposite side, Nottingham Forest will be looking to break as quickly as possible, countering through the lines and making themselves as dangerous as possible on the break.
Scoring goals has been Aston Villa’s kryptonite so far in the Premier League through three matches. Although Emery’s men were off and firing in Belgium in midweek, Villa fans can only hope that that finishing can translate to the Premier League come Saturday.
I am predicting a 1-1 draw. I think that both sides can be successful on the attacking side of the ball — for Villa, it will really come down to their ability to finish their chances, while Forest will look to capitalize on counter-attacking opportunities and make full use of the width of the pitch in attack.
Prediction: 1-1 Draw
