Overview
Aston Villa has not yet won and scored in the Premier League this season, while Nottingham Forest is also struggling under coach Oliver Glasner with a 10-match winless streak in the league.
Villa started the season with two defeats against Brighton (0-4) and Arsenal (0-1), before drawing 0-0 with Hull City last weekend. After 3 rounds, coach Unai Emery's team only has 2.6 xG, ranking 19th in the Premier League. Villa also ranks 18th in the number of touches in the opponent's penalty area (45) and 16th in xG per shot (0.1).
If they continue not to score against Forest, Villa is at risk of becoming the first team in the league history not to score in all 4 opening matches in two consecutive seasons, after experiencing a similar scenario in the 2025-2026 season.
However, Villa regained the feeling of victory in the Champions League in the middle of the week when defeating Club Brugge 3-2 away from home. Emery sees this as a very important step forward and hopes this result will create momentum for the team in the Premier League.
Villa also has reason to believe in a good result when returning to their home ground. They have won all 6 recent times hosting Nottingham Forest in the Premier League. Historically, only Derby County has let Villa win 7 consecutive home matches in the highest league in England, with a streak from 1996 to 2007.
Meanwhile, Forest for the first time could not win any match in the opening 3 rounds of the Premier League. Oliver Glasner has also not had his first victory as head coach, with 2 draws and 2 defeats after 4 matches in all competitions.
Forest lost to Leeds United in both the Premier League and the Carabao Cup, then drew 2-2 with Liverpool at Anfield and 0-0 against Tottenham at home last weekend. Glasner believes that Forest "lost 2 points" against Spurs, especially after Neco Williams' goal in the second half was disallowed.
The Austrian strategist is going through a 10-match winless streak in the Premier League, including 5 draws and 5 defeats. In 2026, only Bournemouth (12), Brentford (11) and Leeds (11) have more draws than Forest (10). Andoni Iraola is the only coach to have more draws than Glasner since leading a team in the Premier League in February 2024, with 33 compared to 31.
Head-to-head history also does not favor Forest. They have only won 3, drawn 6 and lost 9 in the last 18 matches against Aston Villa in the Premier League. Forest only lost more against Arsenal, Everton, Man United and Newcastle.
However, Glasner can rely on his personal record against Unai Emery. During his time leading Crystal Palace, he has never lost to Emery's Villa, winning 3 victories and 2 draws in 5 encounters.
Expected lineup:
Aston Villa: Suzuki, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Torres, Maatsen, Kamara, Barkley, McGinn, Buendia, Hemmings, Jackson.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Milenkovic, Cunha, Murillo, Munoz, Schlager, McAtee, Williams, Gibbs-White, Jesus, Delap.
The match between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest takes place at 9:00 PM on September 12 (Vietnam time).
