Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Predictions

• Ten of Aston Villa’s last 11 games have featured at least three goals
• Villa have scored at least twice in ten of their last 12 outings
• Forest have lost four of their last five Premier League matches

Villa desperate to bounce back from Emirates loss

Aston Villa have done brilliantly to even have their name mentioned as potential Premier League champions this season, but they now have to show their battling qualities as they look to recover from a humbling at Arsenal.

That 4-1 loss was a body blow after Unai Emery’s side had come from behind to claim a 2-1 victory at Chelsea and a visit to the Emirates proved to be a bridge too far, but that does not mean they should crawl back into their hole and it could be bad news for Nottingham Forest, who head to Villa park on Saturday.

Villa have been full of goals this season and a 1-0 home win against bottom side Wolves has been the only other occasion in their last 12 games that they have failed to score at least twice, and the team who have won their last seven league matches on their own patch are capable of bouncing back in style.

Dyche needs to galvanise his troops

While Villa are licking their wounds after their defeat to the Gunners, the problems at Forest are more pressing and the honeymoon period for manager Sean Dyche is definitely over.

The Tricky Trees have lost four of their last five league games following a limp showing in a 2-0 reverse at home to Everton, and their only victory during that period came against Tottenham, who put in their worst away performance of the season.

Forest are capable of upsetting the odds away from home, as they demonstrated with a 3-0 victory at Liverpool which is in danger of being forgotten, but their current league form has to be a concern, even if a four-point gap away from the bottom three means it is not a grave concern yet.

Watkins looking to contribute

With all but one of Villa’s last 11 games featuring more than two goals and plenty of motivation for the home side to get back to winning ways, it makes sense of back Unai Emery’s boys to win a match where over 2.5 goals would also be a winning bet.

A 3-1 home success may be of interest to those looking for a correct-score selection, while Ollie Watkins looks a solid anytime-goalscorer proposition.

The England striker is not longer guaranteed a starting berth in the Villa attack, but he has demonstrated his worth in the last week with both goals in the 2-1 win at Chelsea and their consolation effort at Arsenal, so the former Brentford forward could make his mark again.