Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa Predictions

• Aston Villa have won seven of their last nine Premier League matches
• Nine of Villa’s last 11 matches have featured at least three goals
• Forest have won just one of their last nine Premier League outings

A flurry of Forest frustration

Nottingham Forest had their home form to thank for not falling straight back into the Championship last season, and there must be a few concerns that they have not been able to replicate that so far this term.

Steve Cooper’s remain undefeated in their four home games and while they posted an opening 2-1 win over bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United, they will be disappointed with home draws against Brentford and the two other promoted teams Burnley and Luton.

A return of six points from those four matches is disappointing and the most frustrating result was undoubtedly the 2-2 draw against the Hatters, when they conceded twice in the final seven minutes.

There could have been a hangover from that when they lost 3-0 at Liverpool last week and a visit from in-form Aston Villa is bad news.

Unai Emery has transformed the Second City outfit over the last 12 months and while their run of 12 successive home league wins has grabbed plenty of headlines, they have been no slouches on the road either.

They lost 5-1 at Newcastle on the opening weekend but have found their feet, winning at Chelsea and Burnley, while also claiming a good point at Wolves.

They should be able to boost their quest for a top-four spot by claiming three points here.

Villa have attacking force to come through

Luton have been the only visitors to have scored more than once at the City Ground in the league this season, but Villa should be expected to make their mark more than once.

Nine of their last 11 matches have featured at least three goals and they were in excellent shape the last time they were on the road, winning 4-1 at AZ Alkmaar.

The Tricky Trees may put up more resistance, but Villa will be hard to deny, so expect the visitors to claim a 2-1 success.

Watkins can make his mark

Anytime-goalscorer punters would be wise to keep an eye on Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins, who continues to shine for Unai Emery’s team.

The former Brentford man scored for England in last month’s friendly win over Australia and has had a team-high 31 efforts on goal for Villa this season.

Fourteen of those efforts have been on target and he remains the focal point of the Villa attack, so there is an excellent chance he can add to his league season tally of five goals.