Nottingham Forest handed Aston Villa boost before key Premier League clash | OneFootball

Nottingham Forest received a timely lift before kick-off at the City Ground as Aston Villa keeper Emi Martinez withdrew injured. According to Nottingham Post, the Argentine was hurt in the warm-up and Marco Bizot will start instead.

With seven games left, Forest are just above the relegation zone in a tight scrap. West Ham United moved level on points after beating Wolverhampton Wanderers on Friday. Tottenham Hotspur are two points back and Leeds United are a point ahead.

Forest returned from the international break with a 1-1 draw at Porto on Thursday, keeping their Europa League semi-final hopes alive. The return leg is Trentside next week.

This is the first of three successive home matches that could shape their season, with Porto to follow then Burnley next weekend in another key game at the bottom.

Balancing Europe and the league remains a challenge for head coach Vitor Pereira, who rotated heavily in midweek.

He makes nine changes from Thursday, with only Murillo and Morgan Gibbs-White keeping their places.

Murillo partners Nikola Milenkovic, with Ola Aina and Neco Williams completing the back four in front of goalkeeper Matz Sels. Ibrahim Sangare and Elliot Anderson start in midfield. Omari Hutchinson and Callum Hudson-Odoi support Gibbs-White behind striker Igor Jesus.

Chris Wood, back in midweek after six months out with a knee injury, is among the substitutes alongside Stefan Ortega, Morato, Dan Ndoye, Nicolas Dominguez, Ryan Yates, James McAtee, Luca Netz and Dilane Bakwa.

Source: Nottingham Post