Key events
7 min Lovely touch from Rogers, pulling to the right touchline and flicking around the corner, as Villa build through midfield. They end up with a throw on the left, Digne hurls in, and a miscommunication means Villa win a corner.
5 min One of my favourite things about Cloughie, that I’ll write up one of these days, is how many players were amazing for him but did almost nothing anywhere else. Phil Starbuck, Neil Webb, Garry birtles, Tommy Gaynor, Nigel Clough, Brian Rice, Des Walker, Roy Keane and so on.
3 min Hutchinson goes at Digne, passes on the outside – there’s that 4-4-2 in action – rides the tackle and crosses, Wood marching on to it, his volley already nestling in the stanchion in his mind’s eye. But Jesus stretches out a leg in front of him, brings the ball down, and the chance vanishes.
2 min McGinn into Watkins, who looks offside, but there’s no flag and he spreads to Rogers, who comes inside into the box, shoots …and Morato blocks.
2 min Forest are on the attack immediately, Gibbs-White giving his pass in behind too much for Jesus.
2 min “You can’t let tonight pass without some Clough references,” says Alun Pugh. “He’s looking down willing Forest on to another European trophy. How many sides have defended the top European Cup?
When a supporter invaded the pitch our Brian responded with a punch. The following morning’s tabloid headline – ‘the shit hits the fan’. Marvellous!”
I remember it well and absolutely loved Cloughie, who bestrode my childhood. One of my best mates was a Forest fan, so he was an omnipresent, and even as a kid, I could tell he was special.
1 min Away we go!
I love football at this time of year. OK, I love it at every time of year, but there’s something glorious and moving about the setting sun, and watching it get dark or failing to notice it getting dark, feeling wistful as another season passes. In a grim world, it’s very nice to have.
Our teams are tunnelled, and out they come! NOISE! MAGIC HOUR LIGHT!
“Imagine Mourinho going to Brentford and winning the league and then back-to-back Champions Leagues,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “Then Newcastle winning it the following year. That was kind of what the late 70s/early 80s were like with Forest and Villa. Mad, when you think back on it now. Of course, the Interweb were all fields in them days…”
Yup, I was alive but a baby, so don’t remember it happening, but it was a different footballing world – the eastern bloc players stayed put, and clubs like Forest and Villa didn’t have their best players poached by the richest when they were still foetuses.
Check out this, on the 1981 Cup Winners’ Cup final – perhaps the most 80s match ever, with some banging goals.
Email! “Having eschewed the Dragaoke event in the other room,” begins Benjamin Gravestock, “I’m perched with a pint and just glad Pereira has forgotten Emery’s weakness against wingbacks.
Onana is 80% of a Kamara in game-reading and 90% of a Kamara in terms of being in the right place at the right time, and 70% of a Kamara in distribution decisions, but you’re right that his presence is a big boon for a midfield that still looks a bit friable.
I have Villa lifting themselves for this game and think we’ll take 0, 1, or two goals back to VP, and finish it comfortably next week. But I may be kidding myself.”
It’s one of those games in which no result would massively surprise me. If Villa’s high line is exploited, they can lose by a few, but if their forwards fire, they can win by a few. I agree that Kamara is a big miss, but Onana’s physicality, especially early on, and his box-presence at both ends will be really helpful. I think he’d have played even if Kamara were available because in big games, managers tend to like the things he brings.
Vitor Pereira wants his team to play with spirit, ambition, quality; to be themselves. It’s a special team, he says – they’ve faced a lot of problems, having had four managers, different styles and methodologies, but they keep fighting, they’re united and they keep the same spirit and belief, which is special.
They have some injury issues, missing Sangare and Cunha, but though they’ve changed some players, they keep the same spirit. They have to prove that they deserve to be here, but they’re here because they’ve played well.
Apropos of not much, anyone seen the Northern Premier League, Midlands Division?
Carlton Town finished the season second, 25 points ahead of Rfifth-placed acing Club, who finished 24 points above second-bottom … and of course Racing then beat Carlton on penalties in the playoff semis. Coming soon to a Championship near you.
Emery wants his players to enjoy the occasion; respect their opponents and respect the ref. Onana is fit to start so he is, and that’s about it.
So which team is going to win? If they’re brave enough to get men in the box, I fancy Forest. I don’t massively rate Villa’s defence, which lacks a bit of physicality on the left – I’m not sure how they’re going to control Gibbs-White, and I think Wood can lean on Pau Torres.
Villa, on the other hand, are more likely to build through the middle. They’ll condense the play and look for quick interchanges, Ollie Watkins attacking the space in behind – especially in the absence of Murillo – with Emi Buendia in particular but also John McGinn looking to feed him in.
And as Gibbs-White does for Forest, so Rogers will do for them, mooching about dropping grenades, while Youri Tielemans will look to conduct from deep and arrive on the edge of the box to hit shots.
So where is the game? Well, Forest will look to stretch the play, their full-backs keeping width, especially on the left, with Gibbs-White roaming and an attacking the box. They’ll no doubt be looking to hit Wood with crosses, and won’t mind sitting deep to take advantage of Vila’s high line and their pace on the counter.
I’m not at all surprised Emery has recalled Onana. His ability to cover the width of the pitch will be especially useful given Forest’s use of wingers, while he’ll also be aware of the need to pick up Jesus, dropping off.
It’s also worth noting the 4-4-1-1 throwback formation they now deploy. It has various strengths – it’s the most frequently used out of position shape, gives centre-backs two men to worry about rather than the modish one, and allows for wide overloads.
The reason we see less of it, though, is that it can leave a team undermanned in midfield. But if you’re not seeking control, it’s a really good way to play football, especially if you’ve got good attackers, as Forest do.
I guess Vitor Pereira has to consider the relegation battle his side haven’t quite yet won.
The return of Chris Wood has coincided with some terrific goalscoring form throughout the team, a reference point around which Omari Hutchinson, Morgan Gibbs-White and Igor Jesus can buzz.
As for Villa, it’s just the one alteration for Unai Emery, Amadou Onana in for Lamare Bogarde.
Taking a closer look at those, Vitor Pereira makes two changes to the Forest side which walloped Sunderland. In net, Stefan Ortega replaces Matz Sels while, in central defence, Morato comes in for Jair Cunha and in midfield, it’s Nicola Dominguez not Ibrahim Sangare.
Teams!
Nottingham Forest (4-4-1-1): Ortega; Aina, Milenkovic, Morato, Williams; Hutchinson, Anderson, Dominguez, Gibbs-White; Jesus, Wood. Subs: Sels, Willows, Lucca, Yates, McAtee, Bakwa, Abbott, Whitehall, Sinclair, Hanks, Blake.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1): Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Tielemans, Onana; McGinn, Buendia, Rogers; Watkins. Subs: Bizot, Wright, Bogarde, Maatsen, Lindelof, Mings, Garcia, Luiz, Bailey, Elliott, Sancho, Abraham.
Of course! It’s a big game, so TNT have someone reading meaningful truisms in an earnest voice. I’m choking up here. Anyroad up, let’s have some teams…
Preamble
An affirming feature of Cup competitions is getting to enjoy clubs, players, managers and supporters enjoying and detesting their biggest game in generations. But what is much rarer is to have two teams, from neighbouring regions, competing against each other in a contest which means that much to both, and is vitally important in its own right.
The specific dynamics of our match this evening are also special. Villa are the superior team, fifth in the league having spent much of the campaign higher – there was, briefly, talk of a title challenge – but they’ve struggled in recent months and arrive at this evening in spotty form. Forest, meanwhile, are the inferior team, 16th in the league having spent much of the campaign lower – there is, still, talk of a relegation battle – but they’ve improved in recent weeks and arrive at this evening in top form.
Then if, to that, we add a febrile City Ground, under the lights, along with the adored history of both clubs – Forest were European champions in 1979 and 1980, Villa in 1982 – which those who remember remember, and which those who don’t will have had remembered to them for the duration of their lives – we have what is, without doubt, one of the matches of this season and one of the matches of any season.
This is absolutely colossal, and it’s coming at us right now.
Kick-off: 8pm BST
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/football/live/2026/apr/30/nottingham-forest-v-aston-villa-europa-league-semi-final-first-leg-live
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