Overview
Nottingham Forest entered their first European semi-final since 1984 with excitement, after a 5-0 victory over Sunderland in the Premier League. This result extended their unbeaten streak in all competitions to 8 matches (5 wins, 3 draws).
Under the leadership of Vitor Pereira, the atmosphere at City Ground has become clearly positive. Tricky Trees are holding an advantage in the relegation race when they are 5 points ahead of the relegation group, in the context that the season only has 4 rounds left, including the away match against Chelsea.
Forest now focuses on the UEFA Europa League semi-final - the first Midlands match in the UEFA arena, and also a rare all-England semi-final in European cups in recent years. On the journey to the semi-finals, they successively overcame Fenerbahce, Midtjylland and Porto.
The team that won the European Cup twice in 1979 and 1980 under Brian Clough has not been able to defeat Aston Villa in two Premier League encounters this season. However, they still have a foothold when they are unbeaten in the last 4 home matches against the opponent (2 wins, 2 draws), including a 1-1 draw on April 12.
On the opposite side, Aston Villa is aiming for their first European final since winning the European Cup in 1982 under Tony Barton. Under the leadership of Unai Emery, the team shows stability and bravery. Emery has just become the coach with the fastest 100 wins in club history (181 matches), and also the most successful strategist in Europa League history with four championships.
Aston Villa is currently the team with the most goals in the league with 24 goals, one more than Forest, and also in the group with the best clean sheets (7 matches). They finished the group stage in second place, equal points with the leading team Lyon, before easily surpassing Lille and Bologna.
However, Villa entered the first leg with the determination to regain form after a 0-1 defeat to Fulham in the Premier League. This defeat caused them to drop to fifth place, but the opportunity to participate in the UEFA Champions League is still wide open if they improve their results in the final rounds.
Personnel situation
Nottingham Forest will not have the services of Callum Hudson-Odoi along with Murillo (hamstring injury), John Victor, Nicolo Savona, Willy Boly (all knee injuries) and Luca Netz (not eligible to play). Jair Cunha's case is still open due to shoulder problems.
In defense, Morato could return to starting alongside Nikola Milenkovicć. In goal, coach Vitor Pereira considered giving Stefan Ortega a chance instead of Matz Sels.
In attack, Morgan Gibbs-White is in high form with 5 goals in the last 3 matches and is likely to continue playing on the left wing, supporting the striker pair Chris Wood and Igor Jesus.
On Aston Villa's side, Boubacar Kamara and Alysson are still unable to return, while Amadou Onana needs further testing before the match due to a knee problem.
If Onana is not physically fit, Lamare Bogarde will likely partner Youri Tielemans in the midfield, alongside backup options like Ross Barkley or Douglas Luiz.
Expected lineup:
Nottingham Forest: Ortega, Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Hutchinson, Sangare, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Wood, Jesus.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, Bogarde, Tielemans, McGinn, Rogers, Buendia, Watkins.
The match between Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa takes place at 2:00 a.m. on May 1 (Vietnam time).
