Nottingham Forest vs Aston Villa – 10/10/2022
8109
Nottingham Forest will aim to end a run of five consecutive Premier League defeats when they welcome Aston Villa to the City Ground on Monday night.
Having taken just four points from a possible 24 this season, Steve Cooper’s side find themselves rock bottom of the Premier League table.
— Nottingham Forest FC (@NFFC) October 7, 2022
As for Aston Villa, they sit fourteenth – four points clear of Nottingham Forest – and head into Monday’s clash on a three-game unbeaten streak.
Can Forest turn things around on home soil? Or will Villa pile more pressure on Cooper and his players? It’s time to take a closer look at the teams.
Let’s start with the hosts, Forest, who have managed to win just one of their eight league outings this term – recording one draw and six losses.
The newly-promoted side made a decent start to life in the Premier League, beating West Ham and drawing with Everton in their first three games.
Since then, however, they have registered five straight defeats – falling to Tottenham (0-2), Manchester City (6-0), Bournemouth (2-3), Fulham (2-3) and Leicester (4-0).
Having conceded 21 goals in eight games (2.6 goals per game), the Tricky Trees have the second-worst defensive record in the division.
On the flip side, Villa lost four of their opening five games before stringing together a three-match unbeaten run.
After drawing 1-1 with Man City, Steven Gerrard’s men beat Southampton 1-0 before playing out a goalless draw with Leeds last weekend.
Villa have only managed to score six goals this season, meaning only two sides have a poorer offensive record in the Premier League.
When you look at the bigger picture, Villa have won just two of their past 12 league outings. Forest can take confidence from that statistic.
Head-to-head: Forest and Villa met six times in the Championship between 2016 and 2019. During that period, Forest managed to pick up a solitary victory.
Villa are currently enjoying a four-game unbeaten streak against Forest, having claimed three wins and one draw since their last loss in this fixture.
Team news: Nottingham Forest look set to be without the injured duo of Moussa Niakhate and Omar Richards on Monday.
Aston Villa’s lengthy injury list contains Boubacar Kamara, Ludwig Augustinsson, Leon Bailey, Lucas Digne and Diego Carlos.
Although Forest have made a terrible start to the season, it is worth remembering that Villa are only four points above Coper’s side in the table.
For that reason, Forebet predicts that Forest will hold Villa to a draw at the City Ground – with both sides netting over 1.5 goals.
