Aston Villa are really making hay towards the top four right now. Heading into the weekend, although they’re in seventh place, they’re just four points behind Chelsea for the fourth and final Champions League qualification slot. Of course, they’ll still have to surpass Newcastle United and Manchester City first. And up next is a visit from Nottingham Forest, who sit third in the table.
The Tricky Trees are for real this season, so this match will be a tough one to say the least.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. April 5, 5:30pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Aston Villa Preview Material: Team News Starting Lineup Prediction
Result Probability via Google: Aston Villa 33% Draw 25% Nottingham Forest 42%
Premier League Form, Standings: Aston Villa DWLWW, 7th, 48 pts Nottingham Forest LDWWW, 3rd, 57 pts
With all that said, Villa manager Unai Emery will probably have to do some squad rotation in this match. He kind of has to, given that the Villans are still alive in three different competitions.
Lots of fixtures means lots of potential for overcooking, so perhaps we see Matty Cash, Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford Jacob Ramsey and Youri Tielemans go to the bench?
Go to keep those legs fresh.
Aston Villa Starting Lineup Prediction vs Nottingham Forest
Emi Martinez; Axel Disasi, Ezri Konsa, Tyrone Mings, Lucas Digne; Amadou Onana, Boubacar Kamara; Marco Asensio, John McGinn, Donyell Malen; Ollie Watkins
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, the Washington Post and ESPN. You can follow him on Linked In and Twitter.