CHAMPIONS League-chasing Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest side on Saturday with both taking confidence-boosting wins into this weekend.
Villa are in fourth place in the table and while any dreamy title hopes may have all but vanished after a series of inconsistent displays, they are in a three-way battle with Spurs and improving Manchester United for that last Champions League spot in next season's revamped tournament.
Unai Emery's men picked up a much-needed win last week at Fulham after three defeats in their last four games. Worryingly, all three were at Villa Park which had previously been such a bastion for them.
In fact, they have only won one of their last five home games and that was a narrow 3-2 win against a Burnley side who look doomed. Even bottom club Sheffield United gained a draw in Birmingham.
But Forest's relief at last week's win against West Ham was because it was their first in any competition in 90 minutes this year. Nuno Espírito Santo's side have drawn too many games and their only defeats came at home to Arsenal and away at Brentford.
But they are just four points off the drop zone going into the weekend's fixtures.
How the bookies view it
Aston Villa are strong favourites at 8/15 with Nottingham Forest 5/1 outsiders with 888sport and the draw 18/5 with William Hill's.
Recent head to heads
Forest produced something of a shock when they defeated Villa 2-0 at the City Ground in November.
But Villa Park is something of a bogey ground for Forest – they haven't won there since 1994.
Players to watch
Ollie Watkins was the hero for Villa last week with a double at Craven Cottage to take his tally for the season up to an impressive 19 in all competitions. He is 5/4 to score anytime with William Hill's.
Nigerian hitman Taiwo Awoniyi was the man who got the ball rolling for Forest last week against West Hsm and he is 23/10 to score anytime with Paddy Power.
Anything else catch the eye?
This could be closer than the odds suggest here and preference is for a share of the points.
For whatever reason, Villa have struggled recently at their former fortress and they are far too short against a battling Forest side who rarely lie down. A point would do nicely for the visitors and they can get it.
There should be goals at both ends here. Forest have scored in every league game since the middle of December and all but last week's win against West Ham saw both teams score.
Four of Villa's last five games have seen the same with goals at both ends and both teams to score and over 2.5 goals looks a solid call at 20/21 with Ladbrokes.
This English Premier League match between Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest will be played on Feb 24, 2024 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
