Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa Europa League semi-final preview: Where to watch, predicted line-ups, team news

Aston Villa are set to travel to Nottingham Forest for the first leg of their UEFA Europa League semi-final tie.

Where to watch the game on TV

Fans can find their local UEFA Europa League broadcast partner(s) here.

What you need to know?

The most recent all-English ties in this competition were both finals; Tottenham's 2025 success against Manchester United and Chelsea's 2019 win against Arsenal. The last knockout encounter was Liverpool's defeat of United in the 2015/16 round of 16, while the only previous all-English semi-final was in the 1972/73 UEFA Cup, Liverpool beating Spurs on away goals.

This, however, will be the first all-Midlands UEFA tie, with Villa's journey from their home stadium to Forest's City Ground a relatively modest 80km. Both sides are former European champions (Forest won back-to-back titles under Brian Clough in 1979 and 1980, while Tony Barton steered the Birmingham club to glory in 1982), but neither have reached a major continental decider since.

In terms of domestic encounters, Villa have the nominal advantage (64 wins to Forest's 40, and 32 draws). The sides drew 1-1 at the City Ground in the Premier League earlier this month, but Forest boss Vítor Pereira will be hoping for something a bit better this time, mindful that his side have not won in ten games at Villa Park (D3 L7) since a 2-0 Premier League success in October 1994.

Possible line-ups

Nottingham Forest: Ortega; Aina, Milenković, Morato, Williams; Anderson, Sangaré; Hutchinson, Gibbs-White, Ndoye; Igor Jesus

Aston Villa: Martínez; Cash, Konsa, Pau Torres, Digne; Bogarde, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Buendia; Watkins

Form guide

Nottingham Forest

Form: WWWDDW (most recent game first)
Latest: Sunderland 0-5 Forest, 24/04, English Premier League

Aston Villa

Form: LWWDWW (most recent game first)
Next: Fulham 1-0 Villa, 25/04, English Premier League

Views from the camps

Vítor Pereira, Forest coach: "The pressure is to be ourselves as a team, [for the players] to express themselves and [show] the qualities they have on the pitch. Work; work hard to get a result and play good football. That is the only pressure. With good vibes we can achieve miracles, and in the end, we can be proud of ourselves."

Ola Aina, Forest defender: "I don’t think there’s that much pressure [on us]. The team and club are all proud to be in this situation, in the semi-final. We just want to work hard and get the best result we can, which is hopefully a win. It's a special [occasion]. It's a massive night for the club and the players in the dressing room."

Unai Emery, Aston Villa coach: "It is a key moment in this competition. How we have been performing has been fantastic, but now the semi-final is 50-50 between the two teams. It is very important for both sides. Nottingham Forest have great history in Europe, having won the European Cup, and we have our own history as well - though not recently. Now, both teams want to keep doing something important in Europe."

Ollie Watkins, Aston Villa forward: "That feeling of getting Champions League football a few years ago was unbelievable, but to lift a trophy... personally I have never done it. A few of the boys have won trophies in the changing room and I am very envious of them. It's something I strive to do."

Reporter's view

Steve Bates, match reporter
After a season fighting against relegation from the Premier League and trying to reach the Europa League final, Nottingham Forest are edging closer to achieving both objectives. Vítor Pereira, Forest's fourth coach of the campaign, has overseen an upswing in fortunes on both fronts and they take on Aston Villa boosted by a huge 5-0 away win at Sunderland which has, temporarily at least, eased relegation fears. A fine win over Porto in the quarter-finals also illustrated how accomplished Forest are becoming in the competition. But in Villa they face a team led by a coach - Unai Emery - who has won this trophy a record four times (three with Sevilla and once with Villarreal), and the master tactician will be far from complacent as he looks to make more Europa League history.