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Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest meet in a finely balanced second leg with European progression hanging in the air
Villa Park sets the stage on Thursday night. Aston Villa welcome Nottingham Forest for the second leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final. The tie remains tight. Nothing was settled in the first meeting. Everything is still to play for.
Both sides have taken a cautious approach in Europe this season. Seven clean sheets apiece tell the story. Three of those have come in the knockout phase alone. Neither team gives much away. That trend is likely to continue under the lights in Birmingham.
Villa started the competition as favourites. But recent performances suggest fatigue may be creeping in. The sharpness that defined their early campaign has dipped slightly. Forest, on the other hand, appear to be peaking at exactly the right moment. Their timing could not be better.
Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest prediction points toward another tense and low-scoring affair
Unai Emery is expected to field a strong lineup. Martinez will start in goal. Cash, Konsa, Torres, and Digne should form the back four. Bogarde and Tielemans are likely to anchor the midfield. McGinn, Rogers, and Buendia will support Watkins in attack.
Forest will counter with their own settled side. Ortega is set to start between the posts. Abbott, Milenkovic, Morato, and Williams are expected in defence. Hutchinson, Dominguez, Anderson, and Gibbs-White will battle for control in the middle. Jesus and Wood are the likely pairing up front.
The first leg gave little away. The second leg promises more of the same. Both managers know one mistake could end the campaign. The prediction is a 1-1 draw after extra time. That would send Nottingham Forest through 2-1 on aggregate. East could well edge West in this Midlands showdown.
