Overview
Looking back, everything seems to have become simpler. People cannot help but wonder which direction the scenario of the Arsenal vs. Aston Villa match would take if Ollie Watkins took advantage of the golden opportunity in the first half - a missed opportunity that could be considered a turning point that made Villa pay a heavy price at Emirates.
In fact, Unai Emery's old team exploded after the break. Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus scored in turn, before Watkins scored a consolation goal at the end of the match. That late goal was not enough to change the situation, in a match where Arsenal completely controlled the second half.
The match was also overshadowed by the situation where Emery ignored Mikel Arteta. The Spanish coach is said to have criticized his successor at Arsenal for celebrating before performing the usual handshake. And Arteta appeared confused when he did not see Emery appear on the wings at the time to complete the ritual.
Despite suffering their first defeat since November 1st, Aston Villa still maintained third place in the Premier League table, maintaining a safe distance from Liverpool and continuing to show impressive home form.
Emery's team has set a streak of 10 consecutive wins at Villa Park. If they win another victory this weekend, Villa will reach the milestone of their best home record in 36 years, in a context where they have never won 11 consecutive home matches since 1990.
In the opposite direction, Nottingham Forest also closed the year 2025 with a low note. Sean Dyche, former Everton coach, continued to experience another heavy defeat against The Toffees in round 18. David Moyes' team extended their winning streak by defeating Forest 2-0 at City Ground.
James Garner and Thierno Barry scored against Tricky Trees, extending Dyche's gloomy December streak. Forest ended the calendar year with three consecutive defeats against Everton, Manchester City and Fulham, scoring only one goal in that period.
Thanks to the 4-point advantage over West Ham United, Forest will at least still close the 20th round outside the relegation zone, despite the results at West Midlands. However, the workload of the 54-year-old captain is clearly still very large.
Recent New Year's opening matches often bring joy to Forest, as they have won 5 of the first 7 matches of the last calendar year, and only lost once to Brentford during that time.
However, Forest under Nuno Espirito Santo lost to Villa 1-2 in this confrontation last season. That result means they have not yet won in their last six away games at Villa Park in the Premier League, and have never triumphed here since 1994.
Personnel situation
Aston Villa had to regret the absence of right-back Matty Cash and central midfielder Boubacar Kamara due to suspension in the match against Arsenal. Both of Emery's pillars have expired and are likely to return to the starting lineup.
Cash is expected to be a direct replacement for Lamare Bogarde on the right flank, while Kamara can return to fill Amadou Onana's position in midfield.
In the opposite direction, Nottingham Forest did not record any significant injury losses after the defeat to Everton. The away team also has positive signals related to striker Dan Ndoye, when the Swiss player is said to be able to return soon after a minor problem that has not been specifically identified.
Expected lineup:
Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Lindelof, Maatsen, Kamara, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Malen, Watkins.
Nottingham Forest: Victor, Savona, Murillo, Milenkovic, Williams, Anderson, Dominguez, Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Hudson-Odoi, Jesus.
The match between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest takes place at 7:30 PM on January 3rd (Vietnam time).
