Unai Emery is expected to make one change to his Aston Villa starting lineup for Sunday’s Premier League trip to the City Ground, with Ross Barkley coming into the side at Emi Buendia’s expense as the Villans look to build on their 3-1 Europa League win over Bologna.
Villa go into this Midlands derby in strong form and in a genuinely important position in the race for European football. A win on Sunday would be a significant statement of intent with seven games remaining and Champions League qualification very much within reach.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest (4-2-3-1)
Emiliano Martinez starts in goal. At the back, Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa partner each other at centre-back, with Matty Cash at right-back and Lucas Digne at left-back. Victor Lindelof and Tyrone Mings provide defensive cover from the bench.
Ross Barkley and Amadou Onana form the double pivot in midfield, with Barkley stepping in ahead of Buendia who drops to the bench. Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and John McGinn operate as the attacking three behind Ollie Watkins, who leads the line. Buendia, Lamare Bogarde and Douglas Luiz are among the options available from the bench, alongside Tammy Abraham as the backup striker.
Aston Villa predicted lineup vs Nottingham Forest: Martinez; Cash, Torres, Konsa, Digne; Barkley, Onana; McGinn, Tielemans, Rogers; Watkins
Why Aston Villa need to win today
Villa arrive at the City Ground three days after that Europa League quarter-final first-leg victory in Bologna, where Watkins scored twice including a stoppage-time goal to give them a 3-1 advantage to take into the second leg. The momentum is with them, but Emery will be conscious of managing his squad across multiple competitions with the second leg against Bologna and further Europa League fixtures still to come.
Barkley’s inclusion in place of Buendia suggests Emery wants more physicality and defensive discipline in midfield for this away game at Forest, who are themselves fighting to stay in the European picture and will be motivated by the derby edge of this encounter. The three behind Watkins (Rogers, Tielemans and McGinn) give Villa creative variety and direct running, and if those three link effectively around a confident Watkins, who has now scored in each of his last two appearances, Villa have the quality to win here comfortably.