Vitor Pereira urges focus on Burnley amid Nottingham Forest schedule squeeze and Aston Villa tie | OneFootball

Vitor Pereira played down talk of a looming fixture pile-up after Nottingham Forest sealed a first European semi-final in 42 years.

According to Nottingham Post, Forest host Aston Villa on Thursday 30 April, with the return seven days later at Villa Park. In between they are set to visit Chelsea on the Monday, the only time this season a Europa or Conference League side has a Monday league game.

Forest beat Porto 1-0 at the City Ground on Thursday to win the quarter-final 2-1 on aggregate, setting up an all-English tie for a place in next month’s showpiece in Istanbul.

Pereira said he had not dwelt on the schedule, arguing European sides should get at least four days between games because a third-day turnaround makes recovery difficult. He accepted it is not in his hands and that Forest must deal with it as best they can. He added one extra day would help, though he did not know if that was possible.

Villa will have an extra day before the second leg in the West Midlands, with Unai Emery’s side hosting Tottenham Hotspur the preceding Sunday.

Pereira asked to park Villa talk and focus on Sunday’s meeting with second-bottom Burnley at the City Ground. With six games left, Forest are three points above the drop zone, West Ham United are a point behind and Spurs occupy the third relegation place.

Source: Nottingham Post