Kick-off: 2000, 10/10/2022
Stadium: City Ground
TV: Sky Sports
Nottingham Forest have suffered five straight Premier League defeats but can stop the rot by drawing with Aston Villa at the City Ground.
Villa have only picked up one point from four top-flight road trips this term and Steven Gerrard may settle for doubling that tally here.
We feel 12/5 for a Monday night draw is a value bet for our first Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa prediction.
Nottingham Forest Odds
Alarm bells are ringing for Forest after a 4-0 thumping at Leicester left them bottom of the table.
However, the Reds may have been a touch unfortunate to catch the Foxes when fully fired up after their own poor run of results.
In their four home games since gaining promotion, Steve Cooper’s side have been much more competitive.
They beat West Ham 1-0 at this venue and were positive throughout a 2-0 loss to Tottenham, before 3-2 defeats by Bournemouth and Fulham.
Steve Cooper admits it has been tough to bed in 22 new arrivals after a summer spending spree but remains confident Forest will come good.
After the loss to Leicester, he said: “What I would say is you didn’t see the team give up. I know it’s a group of players that care, even though we’re new.”
Cooper added: “The tougher it gets, the harder it gets, the more I work, the more it means to me. That’s what leadership is – standing up and being counted.”
The Reds have scored first in half of their eight matches, including three times on home turf.
Looking at the Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa odds, it is 2/1 for them to break the deadlock before half-time here.
Last Forest line-up: Henderson, Cook, Williams, McKenna, Lodi, Gibbs-White, Lingard, O’Brien, Kouyate, Awoniyi, Johnson.
Forest have no fresh injury concerns but Jack Colback (back), Moussa Niakhate (groin) and Omar Richards (leg) remain out.
Aston Villa Odds
Villa had a mixed away record last season, with only three teams losing more Premier League matches on the road.
They have suffered more travel sickness this term, losing at Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Arsenal.
Sunday’s goalless stalemate at Leeds was a welcome end to that run, although the Whites did have Luis Sinisterra sent off soon after half-time.
Scotland midfielder John McGinn told Villa TV: “When a team goes down to 10 men with 40 minutes to go, then the onus is on us to go and create chances and take those.
“And we did create those chances, maybe not as many as we would like, but we didn’t take them and that’s the frustrating thing.
“We’ve become a little bit nastier to play against, which is a good thing. But the overall feeling is frustration in the dressing room.”
Gerrard admitted that his side had deliberately tried to slow the game down early on in a bid to counter Leeds’ high-tempo style.
Similar tactics here could backfire if allowing Forest to ease any nerves by getting on the ball more than of late.
The visitors are a determined bunch, though, so 27/2 for Forest HT/Draw FT is a tempting price for our Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa betting tips.
Last Villa line-up: Martinez, Konsa, Mings, Agustinsson, Young, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Coutinho, Ramsey, Watkins, Bailey.
Villa will have Matty Cash and Calum Chambers available. Ludwig Augustinsson is out for three weeks with a hamstring injury while Leon Bailey (muscle) is a doubt.
Additional stats
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