Saturday evening’s Premier League action sees Aston Villa entertain Nottingham Forest, in a battle of two teams with their eyes on Champions League football next season.
Both sides come into this clash off the back of successive league triumphs, with Aston Villa winning their last two and Nottingham Forest their last three. The hosts won 3-0 at European rivals Brighton in midweek, while Forest completed a double over Manchester United with a 1-0 home victory.
To preview this nicely poised encounter in the second city, here’s our pick of the stats…
Villa's formidable home form
Under Unai Emery, Aston Villa have made Villa Park a very tough place indeed for visiting teams to come. They’ve played 24 home games in all competitions over the last 12 months – and won 16 of them.
Villa have lost just three of those 24 and are unbeaten at their famous home since the end of October, when they were knocked out of the League Cup by Crystal Palace. And they’ve not lost at home in the Premier League since the opening weekend of the season against Arsenal, meaning their 14-match home unbeaten run is the longest active streak in the top flight.
Forest the travelling entertainers
The flip side of that is that Nottingham Forest are among the strongest sides on the road in the Premier League this term. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have won eight of their 15 away games so far; only Liverpool (10) have won more.
They score a fair few goals on their travels, too, with only Liverpool (38), Bournemouth (30) and Brighton (27) finding the net more times than Forest’s 26, which compensates for their relatively high 25 conceded.
As you might expect from those numbers, Forest have been involved in a few thrillers away from home in the league – such as September’s 2-2 draw at Brighton, December’s 3-2 victory at Manchester United and, less positively, February’s 4-3 defeat at Newcastle.
Rolling back the years
With Forest sitting pretty in third in the top-flight table and Villa reaching the Champions League quarter-finals, there’s a lovely retro feel about this season. And next season could have a similar vibe.
Forest are inching ever closer to Champions League qualification, having not competed in the top continental competition since entering the European Cup as holders back in 1980. Villa, meanwhile, are still well in the hunt – and look good to secure some form of European football for the third straight campaign.
Should both clubs qualify, it will be the first time that they’ve been in Europe together since the 1983/84 UEFA Cup – of which Villa and Forest, under European Cup-winning bosses Tony Barton and Brian Clough, reached the second round and semi-finals respectively.
