After their incredible winning run was ended at Arsenal, Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest on Saturday aiming to stay hot on the heels of the title contenders.
WATCH — Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
Villa were hammered 4-1 at Arsenal on Tuesday but were very good in the first half of that game and they sit six points behind league leaders Arsenal. Unai Emery has done a wonderful job and a top four finish would be a remarkable achievement.
Forest lost 2-0 at home to Everton on Tuesday, which was a surprise given their recent performances. Sean Dyche’s side remain in the relegation scrap but going forward they have shown plenty of promises in recent weeks.
For live updates and highlights throughout Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest, check out PST’s live blog coverage below.
How to watch Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 7:30am ET Saturday (January 3)
Venue: Villa Park — Birmingham
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Aston Villa team news, focus
Center backs Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings remain out injured, while midfielder Amadou Onana is also out after coming off against Arsenal. Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara are back from suspension, which is a huge boost. Donyell Malen could get the start up front but Ollie Watkins has scored three goals in his last two games. John McGinn will likely come back in to start.
Nottingham Forest team news, focus
Chris Wood, Dan Ndoye, Ola Aina and Ryan Yates are all out injured, while Willy Boly and Ibrahim Sangare are away at AFCON. Forest dominated the ball against Everton and had plenty of efforts on goal as Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Igor Jesus and Hudson-Odoi are really dangerous on the counter as a quartet.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest prediction
Villa looked tired against Arsenal in the second half but if they start fast and score early against Forest, it should be a routine home win. Aston Villa 3-1 Nottingham Forest.
