Europa League: Nottingham Forest vs. Aston Villa Preview | OneFootball

There will be at least one English team in the Europa League final as Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa will battle it out to reach the showpiece event in Istanbul next month. This is Forest’s first European semi-final since 1984, while Villa reached the last four of the Conference League two years ago.

Although it might not offer the same level of quality as PSG vs Bayern did in the Champions League, this tie is certainly intriguing on paper.

Unai Emery: Europa League Specialist

Unai Emery has won this competition on four occasions since the start of the 2013/14 season. Three of those were won consecutively between 2014 and 2016 during his spell with Seville, while he led Villarreal to a stunning Europa League success against Manchester United in 2021.

Surely, if you had to pick just one manager to lead a team into a semi-final tie in this competition, Emery is the man. He has won 70 of 106 matches in Europe’s secondary club competition, losing just 14 games overall.

Despite taking Villa from the depths of the Premier League to qualifying for the Champions League, a trophy is the only thing missing from his work.

Is this the year? Villa have won two of the previous three matches against Forest in the Premier League. Last time out, the two teams had to settle for a share of the points following a 1-1 draw.

Morgan Gibbs-White holds the key for Forest

There is an argument to be made that Forest would never have made it this far if it weren’t for the recent performances of Gibbs-White. Yes, Igor Jesus tops the scoring charts in the tournament with seven goals, yet the Englishman netted the winner against FC Port in the quarter-finals to send Forest through.

A few weeks prior, he scored and grabbed an assist during a comfortable 3-0 win over Fenerbahce in the knockout playoff round, exuding his credentials on the European stage.

Pereira will likely deploy the 26-year-old in a number ten role for the first leg of this semi-final clash, a position where he clearly offers the most. Although he did deploy Gibbs-White on the left of a four-man midfield against Sunderland last week.

Across eight games against Villa during his time with Forest, Gibbs-White has scored and assisted twice apiece, suggesting he enjoys playing against the Midlands outfit.

A few months ago, Forest might not have had much of a chance in this tie. Now? It is far less predictable thanks to the form of the former Wolves midfielder.

The road to the semi-final

Taking part in their first European campaign for 30 years, Forest finished 13th in the group stage. They only lost twice, winning four of their games to seal a place in the knockout playoff round.

From there, Fenerbahçe, Midtjylland and Porto were all vanquished as the club reached their first European semi-final in over 40 years.

Villa finished second in the group stage, winning seven of their eight games to seal a place in the last-16. Lille were beaten 3-0 on aggregate, before a superb 7-1 triumph over two legs against Bologna saw Villa reach the semi-final.

This is the first time since 2009 that two English teams will contest a major European semi-final.

Team news and predictions

Pereira will be unable to call upon Callum Hudson-Odoi, Murillo, Nicolo Savona, Willy Boly and John Victor due to injury. Luca Netz is ineligible for the game, while Jair Cunha remains a doubt.

Emery will be missing Boubacar Kamara due to a knee injury, while Alysson is also sidelined. Amadou Onana missed the previous match against Fulham. He will be assessed before this game.

This game is fairly difficult to predict. Although Villa start as the slight favourites, it will likely be a cagey affair from the start, with both teams looking to prevent leaking unnecessary goals.

As such, expect the game to be a low-scoring affair, with both teams happy to settle for a draw heading into the second leg.