Aston Villa predicted XI: Villans look to reignite Europa League dream after first leg setback | OneFootball

A place in the Europa League final is on the line as Aston Villa prepare to host Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on Thursday night in the second leg of their all-English semi-final.

Villa are heading into this clash on the back foot, having lost 1-0 in the first leg. But there’s still all to play for when these two sides reconvene in Birmingham.

Europa League specialist Unai Emery will fancy his chances of overturning the first leg result, and Villa’s remarkable home record against Forest could be the key.

Villa are unbeaten in their last 10 home games against Forest since a 2-0 defeat in October 1994.

Before the first leg, Villa had lost just one of their previous five meetings with Forest (W3, D1), falling to a 2-1 defeat in December 2024 courtesy of a last-minute goal from Anthony Elanga.

Tonight’s rematch gives them a chance to re-establish their dominance over the Tricky Trees, and they can’t afford to squander it with a place in the final on the line.

Since Emery took over, Villa have gradually been rebuilding their European pedigree.

They reached the Europa Conference League semi-final in 2024 before making the Champions League quarter-final last season.

The Villans will now be determined to take one more step to reach their first European final since their famous European Cup triumph over Bayern Munich in 1982.

Despite entering the game on the back of a Premier League defeat to Tottenham Hotspur, Villa will be brimming with confidence on home turf.

They have won nine consecutive home games on the continental stage and scored in 31 of their last 32 European home games, proving they have what it takes to hurt Forest.

How Aston Villa could line up

Emery named a heavily rotated side for the Tottenham defeat, so he’ll return to a more familiar line-up against Forest, albeit with one slight tweak.

Emiliano Martinez will remain in goal, with Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres, and Lucas Digne ahead of him. The only tweak to the line-up could come in midfield.

Douglas Luiz will likely step in for Lamare Bogarde, whose performances in midfield have been below par.

Luiz hasn’t started a game for Villa since the 2-0 round of 16 second leg victory against Lille over six weeks ago. That could be additional motivation for the 27-year-old to stake a first-team claim.

Meanwhile, the attacking set-up is expected to remain the same with Morgan Rogers and John McGinn on either side of Emiliano Buendia, while Ollie Watkins leads the line.