Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Prediction and Betting Tips | 3rd January 2026

The Premier League is back in action with another set of matches this weekend as Nottingham Forest lock horns with Unai Emery's Aston Villa side in an important encounter at Villa Park on Saturday. Both teams can pack a punch on their day and will want to win this game.

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Preview

Aston Villa are currently in third place in the Premier League standings and have been fairly impressive so far this season. The hosts slumped to a damaging 4-1 defeat at the hands of Arsenal in their previous game and will need to work hard to bounce back this weekend.

Nottingham Forest, on the other hand, are in 17th place in the league table at the moment and have struggled to make an impact this season. The away side suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Everton this week and will need to work hard to bounce back in this match.

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

• Aston Villa have a good historical record against Nottingham Forest and have won 63 out of the 134 matches played between the two teams, as opposed to Nottingham Forest's 40 victories.
• Aston Villa were on a winning streak of 11 matches on the trot in all competitions before they suffered a defeat in their previous game at the hands of Arsenal in the Premier League.
• Aston Villa have conceded at least one goal in each of their last seven matches in all competitions, with their previous clean sheet coming in a 1-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Premier League match in November last year.
• Nottingham Forest have lost each of their last three matches in all competitions, with their previous victory coming by a 3-0 margin against Tottenham Hotspur last month.

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Prediction

Aston Villa have consistently punched above their weight so far this season but were well below their best against Arsenal this week. Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers have been impressive this season and will look to add to their goal tallies in this fixture.

Nottingham Forest are in the midst of a slump at the moment and cannot afford to put a foot wrong this weekend. Aston Villa are the better team at the moment and should be able to win this game.

Prediction: Aston Villa 3-1 Nottingham Forest

Aston Villa vs Nottingham Forest Betting Tips

Tip 1: Result - Aston Villa to win

Tip 2: Game to have over 2.5 goals - Yes

Tip 3: Aston Villa to score first - Yes

Edited by Aditya Hosangadi