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Match preview
After a shambolic and dismal display last Monday night, Nottingham Forest desperately need to kick start their campaign.
A week ago, the Reds were hammered 4-0 by East Midland rivals Leicester City, going 3-0 down after just 35 minutes in a battle of the bottom two.
This means Forest are now at the foot of the table, having lost five on the bounce, conceding 18 goals in these matches.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis has sacked five Forest managers since taking over in 2017, while his other club, Olympiacos, are on their third boss of this campaign already.
Despite all of that, is was announced on Friday that Steve Cooper had signed a new deal, keeping him at the club until 2025.
This may be a sensible move, but was still an unexpected one, given that Forest have changed manager at least once every year since 2010.
Aston Villa meantime will be targeting their first away victory of the season.
Steven Gerrard’s team drew 0-0 with Leeds United at Elland Road last Sunday, in a game low on quality but high for needle.
The Villans’ only victories this season have come against Everton and Southampton, meaning they’ve actually only won four of 18 outings dating back to mid-March.
So, is this game the perfect opportunity for Forest to claim three massive points?
Nottingham Forest team news
Given that they made 23 signings in the summer, predicting a Forest XI isn’t the easiest task.
Steve Cooper switched to a back four at Leicester but, given the scoreline, may abandon that experiment.
Orel Mangala came off the bench in that one, having missed four games injured, so could start in midfield here.
Jesse Lingard was anonymous in that mauling, so is set to drop out, with Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White chosen instead.
Emmanuel Bonaventure Dennis scored home and away against Villa last season for Watford, so could he be handed his first Forest start here?
Aston Villa
Left-back is Steven Gerrard’s biggest concern right now, given that Lucas Digne and Ludwig Augustinsson are both sidelined.
This means Ashley Young, at the age of 37, will fill in.
Matty Cash could return on the other side, against the club he made 141 appearances for.
With Boubacar Kamara out long-term, Douglas Luiz, Jacob Ramsey and John McGinn will be the midfield trio.
Leon Bailey hobbled off at Elland Road and is a doubt.
