Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest live
- Aston Villa host Nottingham Forest in the second leg of the Europa League semi-final | Kick off at 8pm, live on TNT Sports
- '80 GOAL! McGinn seals quickfire double as Villa cruise [AVL 4-0 NFO, 4-1 agg.]
- '77 GOAL! McGinn scores third as Forest collapse in defence [AVL 3-0 NFO, 3-1 agg.]
- '58: GOAL! Buendia scores penalty to puts hosts in front after Milenkovic shirt-pull in box [AVL 2-0 NFO, 2-1 agg.]
- '36 GOAL! Watkins levels tie on aggregate with Villa on top [AVL 1-0 NFO, 1-1 agg.]
- Forest won first leg 1-0 and hold slim advantage over fellow Premier League side
- Injured Morgan Gibbs-White on the bench for visitors
Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest
05:00 , Flo CliffordJohn McGinn gets Aston Villa's third 🔥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026
The captain surely puts the nail in the coffin 💥
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Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest
04:00 , Flo CliffordHe made the first and now he's scored the second 🔥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026
Emi Buendia gives Aston Villa the lead from the spot 🎯
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Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest
03:00 , Flo CliffordOllie Watkins fires Aston Villa into the lead 💥
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) May 7, 2026
What a run that was from Buendia 💫
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Watkins and McGinn lead scoring stats
02:00 , Flo CliffordOllie Watkins and John McGinn are joint-most on the books for Aston Villa with 11 European goals for the side.
Emi Buendia tells TNT Sports:
01:00 , Flo CliffordAsked about how cool and composed he was taking his penalty, he says: “I took responsibility. It was one of the most decisivepenalties for the club in recent years, but I didn’t feel pressure. I felt calm, I knew exactly what I wanted to do.”
It’s put to Watkins that Buendia really created his goal, and the England international heartily agrees: “He put it on a plate for me!”
McGinn continues:
00:30 , Flo Clifford“I’m normally quite calm before games, but today I was nervous. Tonight was up with one of the best performances I’ve seen from a Villa team for a long time.
“I wasn’t nervous in terms of the team turning up. We’veturned up in big games, maybe just not in big semi-finals.
“The injuries Forest have had maybe helped decide it, but weneeded to capitalise – and we did. The atmosphere in here was electric.
“Anything can happen in a game. You can get somebody sent offin the first 10 minutes, first 15. We didn’t want to leave these games with any regrets, and I think we’ve done ourselves massive justice.
“We’ve had low moments, definitely. It’s a demanding club toplay for, but when it’s like this, Villa Park is electric. What we’ve done in the last few years is exceptional.
“The margins in football are so slim. If we lose tonight, we’rethe nearly men. When we go to Istanbul, we need to make sure we’re not the nearly men.”
Emi Buendia tells TNT Sports:
00:00 , Flo CliffordEmi Buendia tells TNT Sports: “We know how difficult these games are. They showed some character in the first leg. We knew in the beginning we needed to start strong.
“Everyone ran a lot, fought a lot. We showed the whole season how good we can play. The result is amazing and I think we deserve it.
“I think the prestige to win a trophy, with the history this club has - it would be amazing. The fans really want this trophy for us, and we will try.
“It’s a final. We need to prepare well and keep going in the Premier League as well because we need to finish as high as possible.”
Aston Villa captain John McGinn tells TNT Sports:
23:45 , Flo CliffordOn Emery: “He’s experienced a lot more European semi-finals than us. In the Conference League semi-final we probably went a little bit too gung-ho, but today we managed it.
“He’s been amazing, but so have all the managers I’ve playedunder. Steve Bruce gave me the confidence to play in England, Dean Smith gave me the confidence to play in the Premier League, Steven Gerrard taught me how to be a leader.
“The manager worked on it a lot. We’ve got versatile players. Itsuited us well and it’s the best we’ve played in a while.”
On his goals: “I used to lash at things, but you learn from your mistakes. I was just over the moon.
“I felt [the nerves] this morning, but now it’s aboutembracing it. You see the guys in 1982, the cup winners in the 90s. The club’s been through some massive lows, but such a massive group deserves success. Hopefully we’ll be the ones to bring it.”
Vitor Pereira on the penalty decision:
23:30 , Flo Clifford“I didn't see it but I tell you one thing, this referee was a very good referee but not for us. A lot of yellow card and fouls, a lot of fouls against us and against them they forget. He permitted a lot of the aggressiveness.
“In the end I don't want to use an excuse. Today we were not in our level to compete for the semi-final.”
Vitor Pereira tells TNT Sports:
23:15 , Flo Clifford“To compete in a semi final and against a team like Aston Villa, we need everyone in the conditions to compete. If you look before the game on the bench we had three players, because the other ones were injured.
“Our bench today, the only solutions we had from the first team was Bakwa, Luca, Murillo we tried but he was injured and not in condition, and Yates. This is very short to come here without solutions.
"Playing against Chelsea and then travelling again to come here after three days, it was not possible. I'm very proud of our supporters, they tried on this long road to help us, but it was not possible. It is a pity but I am proud of my players because they tried everything.
“Aina, out. Morgan [Gibbs-White] out. Sangare, out. Murillo, out. Callum [Hudson-Odoi], out. Ndoye, out. To bring the full squad we put three injured players on the bench, and we brought three more players from the academy. To compete in a game in these conditions, after a game against Chelsea, and play in a semi-final is not possible. This is why I said we were not able to compete.”
When is the Europa League final?
23:00 , Flo CliffordAston Villa will play Bundesliga club Freiburg in the final in Istanbul on Wednesday 20 May.
Kick-off is at Besiktas Park at 8pm BST.
Unai Emery into his sixth Europa League final
22:45 , Flo CliffordIt’s another star turn from the European master, who can win his fifth trophy there in a couple of weeks. Where was this team against Tottenham at the weekend?!
Aston Villa into the Europa League final
22:30 , Flo CliffordAston Villa are into their second major European final, after the 1981-82 European Cup.
The last team to overturn a first leg deficit in a major European tie against an opponent from the same nation as them were Atletico de Madrid vs Barcelona in the 2015-16 Champions League quarter-finals - but Villa were hardly bothered tonight, cruising to victory.
Ollie Watkins: 'No better manager' than Emery in Europe
22:22 , Flo CliffordOllie Watkins, sporting a gash on his head with the bandage removed but beaming ear to ear, speaks to TNT Sports.
He says: “In the first leg we were very passive. They deserved the win, but it was always going to be more difficult at Villa Park. After the performance against Tottenham, everyone’s mind was on this game.
“There’s no better manager than this to get us prepared forthis game and take us into the final. His track record speaks for itself.
“We need to go and win it now.”
Elsewhere...
22:15 , Flo CliffordIn the Conference League, it’s another English success story as Crystal Palace beat Shakhtar Donetsk 2-1 tonight, 5-2 on aggregate.
They’ll play Rayo Vallecano in the final after they saw off Strasbourg 1-0 on the night, 2-0 on aggregate.
Aston Villa into the Europa League final
22:11 , Flo CliffordIt’s a first European final in 44 years for Aston Villa and a chance to end a 30-year trophy drought, going back to the 1996 League Cup.
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
22:07 , Flo CliffordAston Villa beat Nottingham Forest 4-0 on the night, 4-1 on aggregate, to seal their spot in the final in Istanbul on 20 May.
They will face Freiburg, who have beaten 10-man Braga 3-1 on the night, 4-3 overall.
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
22:02 , Flo CliffordThe Villa players, including Onana in his jazzy leather number, jump up and down for joy in front of the Holte End. Glorious scenes. Martinez climbs into his own netting for a laugh.
FULL-TIME: Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
22:00 , Flo CliffordWhat a superb night for Aston Villa. Emi Buendia, Ollie Watkins, and John McGinn at the double to send them to Istanbul.
Big smiles for all the Villa players, but Forest, obviously, are gutted. They just didn’t turn up tonight.
Sweet Caroline rings out and you suspect the party is only just getting started... HRH Wills gets involved too.
FULL-TIME: Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:58 , Flo Clifford‘90+4: That’s it! Aston Villa are into the Europa League final!
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:57 , Flo Clifford‘90+4: Yates fires in an attempt but Konsa flings himself in the way and makes the crucial block. Forest corner, not that it matters at this stage, and it’s headed away.
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:56 , Flo Clifford90+3: Douglas Luiz has also come on, for Pau Torres. Villa Park has not stopped singing for the past half an hour.
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:53 , Flo Clifford‘89: McGinn gets a raucous reception, as you’d expect, as he comes off, before being mobbed by his teammates on the bench. What a servant of this club.
Rogers comes off too. Mings and Bailey are on.
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:51 , Flo Clifford‘89: Sinclair and Murillo, two defenders, are on, even though the latter has hardly been fit recently. Hutchinson and Cunha are off. No sign of the very worse for wear Gibbs-White, which seems sensible, but why put him on the bench in the first place?
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:49 , Flo Clifford‘86: Hutchinson sends in a cross, Martinez leaps to collect, and ends up on the turf to waste some time.
Buendia, who has been superb with a goal and assist, is replaced by Sancho, and gets a warm send-off.
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:48 , Flo Clifford‘84: Williams’ corner is deep to Milenkovic, and Rogers nabs it off him.
Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:47 , Flo Clifford‘83: Forest have a free-kick, deep on the right; it’s a great ball but there are no Forest players anywhere near it, and Rogers heads it behind for a Forest corner.
Sancho is preparing to come on, but needs to patch up his daft sock-holes first.
GOAL! Aston Villa 4-0 Nottingham Forest
21:44 , Flo Clifford‘80: Forest are falling apart and it’s McGinn again! A quickfire double for the club captain, and it’s a very similar finish as he runs onto a tidy Rogers ball, opening his body and lashing it into the near corner, past a diving Ortega.
Aston Villa 3-0 Nottingham Forest
21:42 , Flo Clifford‘78: Lovely scenes as Emery drops to his knees and punches the air, while McGinn is mobbed by all his teammates. That looks like game over.
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-0 Nottingham Forest
21:41 , Flo Clifford‘77: Villa captain McGinn may well have just booked their place in the final! It’s a superb ball forward but Forest just don’t defend it well enough, Watkins lays it off to McGinn at the edge of the box, and he lashes it across Ortega and into the bottom right corner. He’s been industrious all night and now he’s got a goal!
Villa Park goes wild.
Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:37 , Flo Clifford‘74: Emery makes a change: Lindelof, who has been very composed in defensive midfield, is replaced by Bogarde and given a standing ovation.
Forest have a free-kick, which needs retaking.
CLOSE! Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:35 , Flo Clifford‘72: Watkins holds the ball up well and, brought to ground, manages to keep it alive and lash a pass to Buendia, who just fizzes wide!
Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:34 , Flo Clifford‘71: The flag was up anyway. Now Anderson whips a great pass to the far post but there’s no-one there and he’s very miffed.
Time for Forest changes: Morato, on a yellow, is off, as is Wood. A defensive reshuffle. Bakwa and Lucca are on.
SAVE! Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:33 , Flo Clifford‘70: Forest counter! Wood drives forward but at close range Martinez makes himself huge and gets the save!
Forest are threatening....
SAVE! Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:30 , Flo Clifford‘67: Rogers drives forward but sends an attempt straight to Ortega. Pereira is deep in discussion with his coaching staff around a tablet.
Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:28 , Flo Clifford‘65: Hutchinson bends a cross over Wood but to Jesus, but his header is poor and well wide. It’s a first attempt by Forest in ages. Villa keep pressing.
On the Forest bench, the battered and bruised Gibbs-White has collected his boots, is he about to come on? Forest have really missed him tonight.
SAVE! Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:26 , Flo Clifford‘62: McGinn half-volleys the ball goalward but is lacking conviction and Ortega makes the save pretty easily.
Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:24 , Flo Clifford‘60: That was an incredibly businesslike penalty from Buendia, who has got to have the coolest head in this stadium at the moment: puts the ball down, takes a couple of steps, no faffing about, just straight into the bottom left corner.
Now Watkins latches onto a sweet ball forward by Rogers and flashes it past Ortega into the roof of the net, but he’s miles offside.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-0 Nottingham Forest
21:21 , Flo Clifford‘57: Buendia stands over it.... scores! Ortega goes the right way, but can’t get there in time.
Prince William goes mental, as does the entire crowd.
PENALTY! Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:20 , Flo Clifford‘56: It’s an absolutely clueless shirt-pull, and Nyberg gives the penalty. One daft penalty in each leg so far - Digne’s hapless handball in the first leg, Milenkovic’s moment of insanity in this one.
PENALTY CHECK? Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:19 , Flo Clifford‘55: It’s a shirt-pull by Milenkovic on Torres in the box. VAR are having a look at this one... and referee Glenn Nyberg has been called to the monitor!
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:18 , Flo Clifford‘55: Villa win a free-kick in the middle of the park. Tielemans plays it short to Cash, then to McGinn down the right flank.
There’s a real bundle in the box and Torres goes down, rather easily to my eye, but did he get pulled?
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:17 , Flo Clifford‘54: Digne and Hutchinson clatter into each other and the latter appears worse off, with a Forest staff member getting a booking for protesting a lack of punishment for the Frenchman. A pretty scrappy game, this.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:14 , Flo Clifford‘51: Yates hacks and pulls down Torres, then barges over Buendia, and gets a talking-to from the ref.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:12 , Flo Clifford‘49: McGinn floats a lovely ball in to the centre of the box but it’s a little behind Rogers, who can’t get to it.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:11 , Flo Clifford‘48: By the looks of things Yates is sticking doggedly to Buendia, trying to shut down that channel.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:10 , Flo Clifford‘46: Prince William is spotted in the ground, looking pensive.
SECOND HALF: Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
21:08 , Flo Clifford‘45: More of the same in this half? Pereira has opted for a bit more stability in midfield, replacing McAtee with club captain Yates.
Away we go!
HALF-TIME: Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:53 , Flo CliffordThat’s the end of the half! Watkins has a big beaming smile despite his heavily bandaged bonce.
Villa lead on the night and look significantly the better side, 1-1 overall.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:52 , Flo Clifford‘45+5: Tielemans’ free-kick curls beautifully but Ortega makes a confident catch, not too bothered there.
Rogers and Anderson, who had a great battle last week, get in a tangle again and Rogers makes the foul. Forest free-kick in the middle of the park.
It’s quite deep, and Jesus can’t control it. Half-time!
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:51 , Flo Clifford‘45+3: Emergency right-back Cunha gets a yellow for dragging his studs across Buendia’s foot. The Argentine has been an absolute menace tonight. Free-kick to Villa.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:49 , Flo Clifford‘45+2: Pereira is scribbling notes. Forest just clinging on to get to half-time - they haven’t had a single shot on target.
Tielemans plays it forward to Buendia, but Anderson makes the intercept. Villa still probing.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:48 , Flo Clifford‘45: Buendia hauls down Anderson. Four minutes to be added on, which feels a little less than needed after around five minutes for Watkins and Morato’s medical stoppage.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:45 , Flo Clifford‘42: Buendia and Watkins have been running the show. What does Pereira do at half-time?
Elsewhere, Freiburg are 2-0 up against 10-man Braga and ahead on aggregate, while in the Europa League Crystal Palace are 4-2 ahead on aggregate against Shakhtar Donetsk, 1-1 on the night.
Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:41 , Flo Clifford‘38: Ortega was already diving to save the ball from Buendia, leaving Watkins in space to just smash into the net. He celebrates by gesturing to the bandage around his head and roars at the fans.
Nearly another for Villa, this time for Watkins, but Ortega punches clear!
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-0 Nottingham Forest
20:39 , Flo Clifford‘36: Dicey moments for Forest as Milenkovic is nearly caught out by Watkins... the ball is cleared but a long ball is picked up by Villa in midfield and Buendia works it forward, cutting it back at the near post, sitting down two defenders, and squaring to Watkins, who fires home!
Aston Villa are level!
WIDE! Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:37 , Flo Clifford‘34: Villa are still on top. A nice ball falls to Tielemans in the box, he takes a touch but drops his shoulder and drags it a fraction wide!
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:35 , Flo Clifford‘32: A rare foray down the other end now. Williams sends in a cross towards Wood and Jesus, but Buendia gets a good defensive header to it.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:33 , Flo Clifford‘30: A heavily bandaged Watkins is given a rousing reception as he gets up. A lot of nasty clashes of heads involving Forest at the moment, hopefully that’s the last of it tonight. Morato didn’t come off quite so bad and also looks okay to continue.
Ally McCoist on TNT Sports thinks Villa should have been given a penalty, but play continues.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:30 , Flo Clifford‘28: Both players are getting treatment. McGinn seems to be gesturing to say Morato thumped Watkins. Penalty? Watkins very clearly won the ball.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:29 , Flo Clifford‘26: Milenkovic wins the header but Watkins is there to capitalise, sending a tame shot into Ortega’s gloves - and he and Morato are both down after a clash of heads going for that ball. The medical staff are on.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:28 , Flo Clifford‘26: A low Buendia cross takes a deflection off Cunha, and Matty Cash, who’s been busy tonight, has another corner to take.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:27 , Flo Clifford‘25: It’s all Villa at the moment. Elsewhere, Freiburg have levelled against 10-man Braga.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:24 , Flo Clifford‘22: Tielemans nods it down and well wide, bit of a waste.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:24 , Flo Clifford‘21: Buendia’s strike is clean but the wall does its job, sending it behind for a Cash corner.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:23 , Flo Clifford‘21: Dominguez hauls down Buendia and Villa have another free-kick, 20 yards out or so. A really promising spell by the hosts.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:22 , Flo Clifford‘19: Tielemans bends it forward with Cash chasing it down, but it just goes behind for a Forest goal-kick.
The camera pans to Gibbs-White on the Forest bench, who is sporting two shiners and that horrible deep cut. An absolute soldier.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:21 , Flo Clifford‘18: Morato gets the first on-pitch booking for tripping Rogers and sending him flying after a delightful sneaky pass by McGinn.
Free-kick to Villa, very far out but fairly central.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:20 , Flo Clifford‘18: Somebody on the Villa bench, possibly Mings, has been booked for something or other. The injured Onana is in attendance, wearing a very stylish burgundy leather jacket.
SAVE! Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:18 , Flo Clifford‘15: Close! Buendia charges away but with Dominguez closing him down he blasts an attempt away and it’s a comfortable low save for Ortega.
CLOSE! Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:15 , Flo Clifford‘13: McGinn’s corner doesn’t reach Torres as Igor Jesus gets to it first. Behind for a third successive Villa corner. It’s deep, Ortega punches it away, Villa recycle and it’s mayhem in the box but eventually sent clear.
Another good cross by McGinn, headed away brilliantly by Morato!
SAVE! Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:14 , Flo Clifford‘12: Watkins gets away from Milenkovic and sits him down, but can’t find space in the box as a Forest defender flings out a leg. Villa have a corner... Ortega tips Torres’ header over the bar!
CLOSE! Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:12 , Flo Clifford‘9: Superb ball forward by McAtee and Hutchinson has his man on toast, cutting inside and curling a lovely attempt goalward - but narrowly bends it wide!
Now Pau Torres makes the block as Wood marauds into the box. End to end.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:11 , Flo Clifford‘9: In the other semi-final, Braga, who lead 2-1 going into this leg, have already had a man sent off! Mario Dorgeles is the unfortunate making his exit.
Cash bundles over Williams and Emery is very displeased that his team are penalised for it.
Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:09 , Flo Clifford‘7: Gleeful jeers as Hutchinson mistimes a pass and it’s an easy collect for Martinez.
CHANCE! Aston Villa 0-0 Nottingham Forest
20:07 , Flo Clifford‘4: Milenkovic and Williams have some defending to do and the latter brings a smart stop to Watkins’ move.
McGinn delivers a sweet free-kick from incredibly deep towards Konsa at the far post - Konsa’s under pressure from Cunha and the makeshift right-back gets the clearance, a crucial stop.
Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
20:04 , Flo Clifford‘1: McGinn tries to get Villa off to a quick start, but overhits his cross and the ball goes behind for a Forest goal-kick.
Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest
19:17 , Flo CliffordThe winner of tonight’s all-English clash will face either Braga or Freiburg in the showpiece, on Wednesday 20 May in Istanbul.
Braga lead the other semi-final 2-1 on aggregate after the first leg.
Atmosphere building at Villa Park
19:10 , Flo Clifford
Rogers to be Villa's star man?
18:36 , Mike JonesAston Villa’s Morgan Rogers has been directly involved in five goals in six home appearances in this season’s Europa League (2 goals, 3 assists), while he has also scored (1) or assisted (1) in his last two outings at Villa Park against Nottingham Forest in all competitions.
Emery's experience to pull through?
18:30 , Mike JonesAston Villa manager Unai Emery has only once before lost both legs of a knockout stage tie in the Uefa Cup/Europa League and that was with Valencia against Atlético de Madrid in the 2011-12 semi-finals.
In fact, that was the last two-legged tie the Spaniard was eliminated from in this competition, progressing from 22 in a row since.
A stubborn defence
18:18 , Mike JonesNo team have recorded more clean sheets in the 2025-26 Europa League than both Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest (7).
Forest restricted Villa to an xG of 0.8 in the first leg, their second lowest tally in a knockout stage game this term.
Can Villa reach the final?
18:12 , Mike JonesAston Villa are aiming to reach a second major European final, after the 1981-82 European Cup.
But, the last team to overturn a first leg deficit in a major European tie against an opponent from the same nation as them were Atletico de Madrid vs Barcelona in the 2015-16 Champions League quarter-finals.
A third final for Forest?
18:06 , Mike JonesNottingham Forest are looking to reach a third major European final after, the 1978-79 and 1979-80 European Cups.
Forest have only been eliminated from one of their last 13 knockout stage ties when winning the first leg, with that the 1983-84 Uefa Cup semi-final against Anderlecht.
Morgan Gibbs-White could wear face mask for Europa League semi-final
18:00 , Mike JonesNottingham Forest will give Morgan Gibbs-White as much time as possible to prove his fitness ahead of the Europa League semi-final second leg at Aston Villa.
Gibbs-White suffered a sickening cut to his forehead during Monday’s impressive 3-1 win at Chelsea which forced him off in the second half.
There are no concussion protocols regarding the midfielder’s injury, rather whether the wound will heal sufficiently enough for him to be involved as Forest try and book their first European final since 1980.
Gibbs-White could wear face mask for Europa League semi-final after nasty injury
Fortress Villa Park
17:54 , Mike JonesAston Villa have won each of their last nine home games in major European competition, since a 0-0 draw with Juventus in last season’s Champions League.
They have also scored in 31 of their last 32 matches at Villa Park in such competitions, with that goalless draw the sole exception.
European prowess
17:48 , Mike JonesNottingham Forest are unbeaten in each of their three European games against fellow English opposition, keeping a clean sheet each time.
Their only previous away match was at Anfield versus Liverpool in the 1978-79 European Cup first round, wher they drew 0-0.
Villa's impressive record vs Forest
17:42 , Mike JonesAston Vila are unbeaten in each of their last 10 meetings with Nottingham Forest at Villa Park across all competitions with seven wins and three draws.
Their last defeat was a 2-0 loss in the Premier League in October 1994 under Ron Atkinson.
A tale of two Morgans: why Gibbs-White and Rogers hold the key to Villa and Forest’s European dreams
17:30 , Kieran JacksonFor a season of so many zeniths and dreams, it has been quite the week of doom and gloom for Aston Villa and their manager Unai Emery.
Three defeats on the spin, including a wretched home defeat to Tottenham on Sunday, is glaring in its pecularity when you consider their position in the table (fifth, on course for Champions League qualification) and their impressive run in Europe.
Yet the contrast to tonight’s visitors, Nottingham Forest, is stark.
A tale of two Morgans: why Gibbs-White and Rogers hold the key to European dreams
Nottingham Forest's early team news
17:24 , Mike JonesTaiwo Awoniyi - who scored twice against Chelsea - is not in the visitors’ European squad, while Ola Aina, Ibrahim Sangare and Murillo, who all missed the win at Stamford Bridge, are doubts.
The main worry for Forest boss Vitor Pereira is the fitness of Morgan Gibbs-White, who clashed heads with Chelsea keeper Robert Sanchez and was whisked off the pitch for several stitches on a deep-looking gash.
Pereira said on Wednesday that they would have a “last meeting” involving the medical team to decide whether he would play.
Predicted Nottingham Forest XI: Ortega, Abbott, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams, Hutchinson, Dominguez, Anderson, Gibbs-White, Jesus, Wood
